Sorry again for the delay. I went back to work and I am quite literally without a single moment of spare time these days. But this one has been poking around in my brain for weeks and I need to sleep again, so here it is. ;) It's a shorty, but I hope you enjoy it.
"What do you think you're doing?"
He glanced up from the dog-eared pages of the book he'd plucked off her nightstand at her incredulous look from the doorway of her bathroom. She was beautiful, all wide eyed and gaping, the hem of her nightshirt brushing the tops of her thighs, toothbrush paused mid-stroke as she prepared for bed.
"Pride and Prejudice, Beckett?" Castle grinned from the bed, waving the book in the air like a taunt. "Nothing like a little romance novel before bed."
"Its Jane Austen, Castle, not Twilight," she scoffed, pulling the toothbrush from her mouth, her eyes squinting into a glare.
He had the sense to place the book down and shoot her a soft look of apology, and for a moment, she almost let it go, he looked so unsure of his place in her bed for the first time.
"That's my side of the bed."
The apology slipped from his face, replaced instead by a thrilled sense of indignation. Gone was the hesitation left over from their first night together, and an annoyed Beckett was one he could handle.
"I sleep on the right side, Beckett. I think we established that last night."
He quirked an eyebrow and grinned that self satisfied smirk that fueled the simmering embers of an argument in Kate. He was egging her on, she knew it, yet she couldn't stop herself from engaging. She just wanted to wipe that bloody smirk off his face.
"We also established that you sleep upside down, and on the floor. That can easily become your spot."
"Touche, detective. That however, doesn't change the fact that I have slept on the right side of the bed for the past…ever."
The smirk remained.
"In case you haven't noticed, Mr. clearly not a detective, my book is on the right nightstand. There's a glass of water on the right nightstand, and if you open that little drawer there, you will see, my birth control pills. On the right."
"As much as I'd like to get into your drawers right now," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "it doesn't change the facts. Clearly we are at an impasse."
"It's not an impasse, Castle. It's my bed."
Kate tossed out her own smirk as she turned and slipped back into the bathroom. He heard her spit and rinse her brush before flicking off the lights and striding with determination, back to the bedside.
"So how do we determine the true master of the right side of the bed, Beckett?" Castle crossed his arms and leaned back, a pillow tucked neatly behind his shoulders, daring her to fight back.
"That's an easy one, Castle."
She bent over his settled form, face only inches from his, the deep vee of her nightshirt drooping to give him a complete view of her naked skin beneath. His eyes fought to maintain contact with hers, but he was, after all, a mere mortal, and he couldn't help the downward shift to catch sight of what lay hidden beneath the layers of fabric.
Kate grinned her own self satisfied smirk, trailing her finger down the creamy skin of her neck, towards the valley between her half exposed breasts.
"I can think of one or two very good arguments."
Castle hummed his agreement, a deep rumbling sound as he nodded his head unconsciously, his gaze still fixed on the motion of the detective's finger.
"Very good."
Rolling her eyes at Castle's sudden loss of coherent vocabulary, she continued her tease, the addition of her bedroom voice having the desired effect on her partner's will.
"Do you want me to show you all my very good arguments, Rick?"
The stare never wavered as he continued to bob his head.
"I thought you might."
Castle gulped with anticipation as her finger dipped below the fabric, and without warning, Kate shot to full height.
"You ever want to see them again you'll move over."
"Kaaaate," he whined. "That's so not fair."
"All's fair in love and war," she taunted, nudging his thighs with her drawn up knee. "Now get on your own side of the bed. I'm tired."
"You're mean, you know that?" he continued to grouse, shifting himself over to the far side of the bed, as she slipped in beside him, grinning victoriously over her shoulder as she curled up.
Sighing with exaggerated defeat, he pulled her body back into the cove of his own, fitting himself around her. She settled instantly, the events of the day slipping from her, her body boneless and pliant, and she released a sigh of her own; relief and comfort within his arms. Twining her fingers with his, Kate drew their joined hands to her lips and kissed his knuckles tenderly before drawing them close to her body.
Castle hummed his contentment into her neck and let his eyes slide closed, his own exhaustion taking over.
"This is nice."
A kiss to her head in unspoken agreement, "Maybe the left side isn't so bad after all."
Untwining their fingers, Rick moved his arm down her torso to settle across her midsection, leaving them close, but able to move freely when one of them inevitably shifted within the night.
"Think of all the times you can accidentally touch my boobs from that side," Kate teased him, sleepily.
"You're right," he gentled a final kiss to her head. "Best. Side. Ever."