We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry. – E.B. White
WHAT, IN THE LONG RUN, GIVES US JOY
"Excuse me, sir?"
Rick Castle looked up from his book to see a pretty brunette standing in front of him, wringing her hands together. "Yes?"
Kate Beckett shifted from foot to foot. "I'm so sorry, this is really embarrassing. But I forgot my detergent, and I didn't notice until I started the machine. I can only use a certain kind, and you use it too. Can I—"
"Of course," Castle interrupted her, handing her his bottle. He set down the book he was only pretending to read; he'd first noticed her a few weeks before and had been trying to come up with an excuse to break the ice without sounding weird. But apparently she beat him to it. Forgetting detergent. Brilliant.
Beckett shut the lid of the washer and brought the soap back to him. "Thank you so much," she said, setting it down. "That's never happened to me before."
Castle smiled up at her. "No problem." He moved his bag from the chair next to him. "Care to sit?"
Beckett hesitated. She wasn't in the best part of town, but she'd seen him several times and he seemed relatively normal. "Sure. I'm Kate," she introduced herself as she sat, extending her hand.
Castle shook it. "Rick. Come here often?"
Kate chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Nice line. Does it ever work?"
Castle grinned at her. "You tell me."
"Hmm. I don't know yet."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Beckett relaxing more by the moment and Castle trying to identify the scent he was getting whiffs of every time she moved. Cherries, he finally realized. They suddenly became his favorite fruit.
"So Kate," Castle started, "you have nothing better to do on a Friday night than hang out in a laundromat for a few hours?"
Kate crossed her legs and leaned back, eyeing Castle. "I could say the same to you. Good-looking guy, you could probably have any woman you want."
"Good-looking, huh?" Castle heard his dryer stop, retrieved the load of t-shirts and shorts and started folding on the table by Kate. "Well, unfortunately, clothes have to be washed and this is the best time for me to come." He looked up at Kate, who was staring at him with an amused look on her face. "What?"
Beckett nodded at his clothes. "Nice shirts."
Castle held up a well-worn Superman t-shirt. "Man's gotta dress in style. So, what's your story, Kate? I find it hard to believe that you don't have your choice of suitors, yet I see you here every week."
Kate retrieved her first load from her dryer, suddenly grateful that she'd chosen to wash her work clothes first and not her underwear. "Friday is my only real day off and I prefer to come at night. Fewer people."
They folded in silence, stopping only to switch out loads. After some time Castle was done, while Kate was working on her last. He packed his clothes and supplies and sat, watching Kate's profile as she folded.
After a few moments of him staring, Kate threw a glance in his direction. "That's a little creepy, Rick."
Castle jumped. "Sorry. I just – um, you need help?"
Kate raised an eyebrow. "Folding my last towel? I'm good, thanks."
Finally she was done, and she stretched to work out the tightness in her back. "Well, Rick, it's been fun. Thank you for the detergent."
Castle smiled and held the door open for her. "Anytime." They stood for a moment until he cleared his throat. "Good night, Kate."
Kate smiled. "Good night, Rick." As he turned away, she called after him. "Next week?"
Castle threw a smile over his shoulder. "Can't wait."
The next seven days seemed like the longest of Kate's life. She had no idea what drew her to the man in the laundromat, Rick. He was good-looking, that was for sure, and definitely charming. She liked him. She wanted to get to know him.
So she brought extra to the laundromat that Friday, not just the normal assortment of clothes and towels, but a couple sets of sheets as well (a good excuse to stay longer, she figured). When she saw Rick come in with two duffel bags instead of one, she grinned. He obviously had the same idea. "Hey," she called out, waving him over.
Rick smiled. "Hey yourself. Watcha got there?" he asked, motioning to the large pile in front of her.
Kate shrugged. "Had a lot to do this week. I saved you a washer."
Rick started sorting his clothes into the washer next to hers. When he went to put in detergent, he saw the compartment was already full, and he threw a questioning glance in Kate's direction.
"For last week," she offered in explanation.
Once the machine was going, Castle sat down next to her. He noted the fatigue in her features; she had smiled at him, but the smile hadn't quite reached her eyes. Not for the first time, he wondered what she did for a living.
Kate looked up; apparently he'd verbalized his question. "Um, I'm a cop," she said slowly, hesitantly, like she was afraid of his reaction.
Castle's eyes widened. "Really? That's awesome!"
"You think?" Kate looked down at her folded hands, picked at a loose thread in her jeans. "Sorry, I get a lot of different reactions from guys when I tell them. Yours was new."
"Let me guess." Castle shifted so he was facing her almost head-on. "Some guys feel intimidated, some think it's not feminine enough, and the majority make inappropriate handcuff jokes."
"How'd you guess?"
"I'll be honest, a few years ago I probably would have made an inappropriate handcuff joke. But not now."
Kate looked up at him, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. "Oh? What's different?"
"Well, I had a daughter."
"You're married?!" Kate pulled back in surprise. She was usually so good at checking for a ring – but she didn't remember doing that with him-
"No, no." Rick started to reach for her hand but stopped himself. "Divorced. Well, technically separated, but it's almost finalized. I have Alexis most of the time, but while Meredith – that's her mom – is here she has her on the weekends." He motioned to the small pile of girl's clothes in front of him. "She's four. Alexis. Meredith is moving out to LA soon, and I'll have Alexis full-time."
"Oh." Kate was embarrassed at her assumption, but she also felt a surge of empathy for this man. She could tell that he was hurting, but she couldn't tell if it was because of the divorce or because the mother of his child obviously had higher priorities. "I'm sorry, Rick," she said quietly, placing her hand on top of his. "I can't imagine how hard that must be."
Rick swallowed and stared straight ahead, eyes glistening with unshed tears. His divorce with Meredith had been a long time coming, but watching the effect it had on Alexis was rough. The sound of his washer stopping shook him out of his trance and he smiled at Kate before standing. "Thank you."
After they both had a load in the dryer and their second in the washer, Kate spoke again. "What do you do for a living?"
Rick scoffed. "Oh, I fancy myself a bit of a writer."
"Published?"
"You could say that."
"Anything I may have read?"
"Depends. Do you like mysteries?"
Kate's jaw dropped. She knew he looked familiar. "You're Richard Castle."
Rick gave her a shy smile. "Guilty. But, do you mind keeping it down? I don't want everyone to hear."
Kate looked around at the empty room. Besides the owner, they were literally the only two people there. She just gave him a look that had him unconsciously slouching in his chair. She was about to say something else when her stomach rumbled. She'd spent the day catching up on paperwork, and had been so engrossed that she'd skipped lunch and dinner.
Rick's eyebrows shot up. "Was that you?"
Kate could feel her cheeks flushing. "Yeah. I haven't eaten much today."
"Well, I'm going to fix that." He had his phone to his ear before she could say anything, calling in a delivery of what sounded like delicious Thai food. When Castle hung up he looked at her, a sheepish look on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask what you liked. I just – they're just a couple blocks away, and they deliver. I hope Thai is okay."
Kate couldn't hide her smile. "It's great. That's actually one of my favorite restaurants."
Rick's face melted into a relieved grin. "Thank God. I once took a date to Remy's – their burgers and shakes are to die for – turns out she was a vegetarian. Needless to say, that was our first and last date."
"Well, you don't have to worry about me, Castle. I am definitely not a vegetarian."
Beckett had a terrible week. Monday she'd been called in to help the FBI with a missing little girl who'd been kidnapped by her own mother to try to prove negligence so she could sue for custody. The whole situation made her sick. And what hadn't helped at all was that the lead agent was her most recent ex, which brought up all sorts of confusing feelings after they'd closed the case and she could think again.
So she almost didn't want to go to the laundromat Friday night, was tempted to put it off another day. As soon as she walked in and saw Rick, though, she couldn't stop the smile that took over her face. He was there already, but he had no bag or basket. Instead, he had a bouquet of flowers; she also noticed the owner lurking in the doorway of her office.
Kate motioned to the empty table. "Did I miss a memo? Are the machines on strike?"
Castle chuckled and took her bag. "No, but we are. Tonight, you are taking advantage of the wash-and-fold service that Susan offers, and I'm taking you out. If," he added, noting the hesitancy in her eyes, "you'd like to."
Kate considered, but only for a moment. "Sounds great." She wrapped her hand around Castle's offered elbow and let him lead her out, not seeing the thank you he mouthed to Susan.
Castle and Beckett closed down the restaurant. They talked for hours, through dinner and dessert and multiple rounds of coffee; the manager practically shut off the lights while they were still inside. Neither wanted the date to end. Kate hadn't been on a date in months, and now that his divorce was finalized, Castle didn't have to feel guilty about wanting to spend every waking moment with her.
Finally, Kate's long week started to catch up to her, and she found herself yawning as they walked through TriBeCa. The yawn, as well as the occasional stumble in her step, didn't get past Castle and he once again offered his arm.
"You're tired," he pointed out when she protested his suggestion to walk her home. "Kate, you're falling asleep on your feet. Either I walk you home or I follow you. Your choice."
Kate leaned further into Rick's side, enjoying his warmth as they walked in a comfortable silence. Finally, she was slowing him, approaching her building at last. "Well," she said, turning to face him, "this is me. Thank you, Rick. I had a wonderful time tonight."
Rick took her hands in his. "Me too." He hesitated, searching her face for any uncertainty. He saw none, just eagerness and anticipation, so he bent down to brush a soft kiss on her cheek.
Kate's breath hitched at the touch of his lips on her skin. He was being a gentleman, she supposed, but why not a real kiss? Especially since they'd shared so much about each other over the previous weeks. She'd been more open with him than with anyone, and over laundry, nonetheless.
As Castle pulled away, he locked eyes with Kate, who leaned up to kiss him. His hands went to her face almost immediately, cupping her jaw with one and the nape of her neck with the other. They kissed until they had to part for breath, Kate nipping at his lower lip before pulling away.
"I should go," she whispered, breathing hard.
Rick rested his forehead on hers for a moment, then gave her one last peck on the lips. "Can I call you later?"
Kate grinned. "Looking forward to it already." She begrudgingly untangled herself from his arms and stepped into her building. "Goodnight, Rick."
Rick smiled back. "Goodnight, Kate." He gave her one last wave before she disappeared then turned towards home.
He liked Kate Beckett. A lot. And he couldn't wait to see her again.
FIN
A/N: borrowed from a Tumblr prompt from castlefanficprompts: AU "We do laundry at the same laundry mat every Sunday afternoon and sometimes we make small talk and sometimes we borrow each other's detergent because we use the same weird kind. One night we have so much fun it's almost like date and we stay so late the owner has to kick us out."
