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The distance between two
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One scene – A thousand words (ish)
The same challenge as last year; to see if I could create a linking moment between each Season Six episode.
One chapter a day until Season Seven arrives.
Wish me luck.
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6x21 – 6x22
Law and Boarder - Veritas
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She ducks automatically as a car drives past, their headlights illuminating the interior of their van for a second, but it continues on, innocently moving along the streets of downtown New York.
Unlike them.
Castle doesn't move in the passenger seat, his head lolled to the side, his shoulders slumped. He's probably dozing off, the late hour taking its toll on him. She doesn't mind, though, he's here, beside her. They are doing this together.
But he leaves on a plane tomorrow, and then what does she do?
The last two trips away have been weekend sprees, but not this one. It's his last tour before the wedding and she's waiting for the argument when he realizes that this project can't stop just because he has to go.
"I can hear you thinking from here."
Snorting, she stretches across the large console between them, poking him low in the ribs. The van is a purchase that leaves her lying awake at night, and while the transaction was made through a guy Castle knows, has no ties to them, she can't help the panic that laces her determination.
The apprehension that they'll be spotted tailing Simmons, photographing his movements every chance they get, and now, with Jason, their operation feels more freefall than organized. Not that a bit of anxiety will stop her; she will get justice for her mom, for Montgomery, and for the other victims. They're close and the sensation crawls along her skin, raising the hairs at the back of her neck. It's just a matter of time.
All it takes is one slip up from Simmons, Bracken, anyone that can tie the two together, and the camera that rests in its holder will capture every detail of what goes down.
They just have to be patient and wait.
"And what am I thinking, then?"
His head turns toward her, his eyebrows wiggling like caterpillars across his forehead, and she grins, her thumb lifting to trace the smooth square of skin between them.
"You're thinking that since I fly out tomorrow and this place is as dead as our sex life is about to be, we should make the most of it by christening the back of this van."
Her laughter explodes, but she quickly pushes her lips together, tries to silence the noise that comes with his statement. Yes, that's exactly what she was thinking. Not.
"I was actually thinking that we should abstain from sex in the lead up to the wedding. You know, make the event more special." Biting the inside of her cheek, she schools her features into what are hopefully smooth unreadable planes, and his jaw crashes to the floor.
"That maybe the cruelest thing you've ever said, Beckett." His head shakes, and as he shifts himself sideways, leans into her personal space, his hand nudges her thighs apart, his palm dipping the cushion under her rear.
"First you desolate my manhood through your stunning Scrabble abilities-"
"I fixed that with Strip Poker."
"And now you want to force me into cold showers for nearly three weeks." His mouth hovers above her cheek, drifts until he is the tiniest fraction away from her lips. "Newsflash, Beckett. I don't think you could do that to me, let alone yourself."
She's not going to move, not going to launch forward and make him put his mouth to a far better use. She can bluff her away out of any situation when her back is against the wall.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Castle."
"I'm talking about how your body is positively vibrating with libidinal energy. You want me, Beckett."
She arches an eyebrow, struggles to ensure her mouth doesn't twitch, doesn't portray her amusement.
"I want you? Really? And, Rick, vibrating with libidinal energy? Have Storm sales been that bad that you're forced to publish Harlequin romances now?
His tongue flickers, his eyes black pools, the streetlight at the corner throwing nothing but barely-there shadows within the van, and she continues holding still.
"Libidinal, the adjective of libido; sexual instinct, lust, desire, Beckett. Exhibit A, you."
He's right, and damn it, he knows it too. She's not conceding defeat though - they have that in common - she will fight to the death to keep putting one foot in front of the other when it matters.
Not that the stakes are that high at the moment. Still, she's going to win this round.
"And yet, I'm the one sitting here, minding my own business. It's you who's in my personal space. It's you who seems to be oozing lascivious thoughts. " She stretches out each syllable of lascivious, her lower lip brushing his skin as she emphasizes each sound, and his eyes roll back into his head, his body falling away from hers as he tumbles into the passenger seat with a thud.
"My heart can't take that kind of torture, Beckett. Not when I can't do anything about it." He sits up straighter, his hand wrapping around her knee, and he squeezes. "But, like those elephants on your desk, I have a long memory too. And one day, when you least expect it, I'm going to surprise you, torture you slowly with all the ways that I know your body, and I will win this war."
She smiles, draws her lips wide, and, flashing her teeth, she shakes her head.
"I'm still waiting from the last time you promised to get me back, and that doesn't sound much like torture, Castle. It sounds a lot like pleasure."
"There's a fine line between pleasure and pain."
Reaching for him, she crashes her mouth against his, slipping her tongue between his lips, and as their teeth collide, her breath exits in a gasp, her nails digging into his shoulders. There's a fine line but it's fun to dance back and forth over it.
Time becomes irrelevant, the feel of him, the heavy scent of them, drives all thoughts, both good and bad away. There's no tomorrow, no yesterday, just this second, him in her arms, his body wedged against hers in the small space at the front of the van.
He jerks back with a pop, his gaze hitting hers with an intensity that would take her breath away - if she had any left.
"You're not kissing me good bye. And you're not going to do anything reckless while I'm away." His palms warm the side of her face as he cups her within his large hands. "I'm marrying you. End of story. Nothing is getting in the way of that."
She nods, her eyes fixed on his. She'll walk that fine line too. The one that exists between getting the information they need and not getting into danger. She'll get justice for the secrets of the past. Expose the truth to the world.
For her mom. For herself. For them.
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Sorry about the typo with the last chapter, 20 was after That '70s Show not The Greater Good!
Thank you for continuing to enjoy this fic, your lovely words means so much to me xoxo
I typed in Veritas and a sob escaped (mostly due to feels ;-)
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Thank you to Jamie and Jo for being there even after all these chapters xoxo
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Thank you for reading xoxo