Any resemblance to other, previously written fics, is purely coincidental and should be taken as a compliment that you nailed the trope. However, if you think there's any chance of underhanded copy-pasting, please contact me by PM and we'll discuss it.

Prompt 12: sharing a bed

It's late when they get back to the loft from the precinct, her fingers gripped tight around the handle of her gym bag, the contents her only possessions not tainted by the acrid smoke. Castle disappears up the stairs, with an offer to make herself at home thrown over his shoulder, and she finds it impossible to move from the vestibule, her feet unable to move her any further into the great room. Her partner comes back at a much slower pace, causing her to put her guard up even further than it already was.

"Uh, Beckett?" Her shoulders are a taut line and she's watching him wince before he even continues with his next sentence. "It appears that Mother has overtaken the spare room with costumes for an upcoming production, and… look, you can sleep in my room."

She just stares at him for a few seconds before she even responds. "You can stop yanking my chain, Castle."

"Beckett… Kate, I wish I were joking right now."

She can't even summon up an eye roll. "Whatever, I'm too tired to even argue anymore." Too tired to even move, she realises.

He ushers her into his bedroom, the side door only a few steps away, and she can't decide if his attempt at not-hovering is successful or not, but the warmth of his body close by is certainly not unwelcome.

"You want me to run you a bath? I can put in extra bubbles?" he murmurs, awaiting her answer as she comes to another full stop in the middle of the room, her curiosity getting the better of her as she looks around and almost forgets he was talking. She shakes her head enough for him to get the message. "Okay. Well, I'll put clean towels out in case you want to shower." She watches him move around his space from the corner of her eye, mentally cataloguing the location of certain items (large fluffy towels on bottom shelf of cupboard in bathroom, pyjama shirts second drawer down in the closet, boxers top drawer). "And these in case you wanted something to sleep in."

He places the burgundy t-shirt and black boxer shorts on the corner of the bed, his mouth quirking in a sympathetic smile that disappears almost as soon as it arrived. He shifts his weight as he begins to leave the room, and she finally finds her voice.

"Castle?" He stops, shoulder to shoulder with her and looks at her, making her feel tiny just from the way he seems to lean closer. "Thank you." She moves her bag to her other hand and reaches up to rest her fingers on his bicep. "I don't want to kick you out of your own bed," she begins, her mouth running away with her before she even realises what she's saying. "Please… don't go."

He rests his hand over hers on his arm. "I'll give you a few minutes to settle in, and I'll be back."

She shuffles through her bathroom routine, emerging at the same time he returns, fighting the pull of sleep even as she walks to the bed. She tugs the sheets down and climbs into the nearest side, barely noticing him tiptoeing to the bed and slipping in beside her. She lies down on her side and her eyes flutter open to see him mirroring her.

"Goodnight," he whispers into the space between them. The smile she gives him is more in her eyes than her lips but she sees it reflected in his face as her eyelids droop and she finally succumbs to sleep.

By the time the sun rises, sending shafts of warm light streaking across the room, the space between them has been completely eliminated. She wakes and finds the smile that she was too tired for a few hours before spreading out from her mouth to the tips of her fingers, and she flexes them against the skin in the gap between his shirt and pyjama pants.

He whispers, "Good morning," into her hair, and she stiffens in surprise, her eyes opening wide to find the soft grey material of his shirt at the end of her nose.

"Castle?"

"Mmm?"

She can tell he hasn't moved in a while, feels it in the stiffness of his arms around her. "How long have you been awake?"

"Uh, about an hour? I woke up to find you wrapped around me, Beckett, how could I go back to sleep after that?"

She huffs, "Fine," and rolls her eyes, pressing her forehead to his chest and squeezing him tighter. She feels him take a deep breath and relax, running his palm down her spine to rest low on her waist.

They don't talk about it, but when she climbs into his bed the next night and immediately curls up against him she knows she won't be able to stop herself from doing this every night for the rest of her life.

I guess this is a bit of an AU from Tick, Tick, Tick... / Boom! and I wasn't expecting to write this but it just kind of poured out. It probably isn't as tropey as it could have been, but I hope you liked it nonetheless.