For the disturbing Ninjas of twitter.


"You could be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare."


"Heh, Batman's trending." He chuckled and glanced her way, caught the flare of annoyance from her eyes and ignored it. "Hey, Kate, did you know that the word nightmare is derived from 'mare'. A folklore from Germany about a Goblin that would - ew - sit on peoples chests and ride them as they slept? That's just weird."

"What the hell are you reading now, Cas- Uberfacts? Really?" She rolled back over in the bed ignoring him when he trailed after her. "You need to get off twitter and go to sleep."

"I can't it's addictive."

"It's a time waster and we've had a long day, chasing down suspects, fending off angry bosses." She arched her neck to glare at him, but he carried on reading completely oblivious.

Whether or not he had intended it - and half the time she wasn't even sure herself - Castle had spent most of the day antagonizing the Captain. Silly quips, insane theories and his general jovial manner grating the woman beyond all recognition and though at one point Kate had felt like taking her Boss aside and just telling her to give it up that he would wear her down eventually - Beckett herself was evidence enough of that, surely - in the end she had concluded the safest course of action was to run interference, and now she was exhausted.

"You know what that means though don't you?" Castle pondered aloud, a hand at her elbow as he finally gave in, shutting down the outside world and cocooning with her in the dark.

"Hmm?" She mumbled sleepily.

"I'm gonna have to stop calling Gates an evil Goblin."

At his side Kate snorted and turned back to him smiling - score!

"I really don't want to think about her sitting on my chest and riding me to ungfamama ow!"

With her hand over his mouth, Kate pushed herself into an upright position and glared, "NO, no, no. NO." She said firmly, "You will not put that image in your own head just before you go to sleep and you most definitely will not be putting it in mine."

"Too late it's already there. I'm picturing her dressed like -"

"I don't wanna know." Kate growled, "And don't wake me up in the middle of the night when your vivid imagination starts taking you to dark and scary places, Castle. I mean it."

"I won't." He scoffed, just a bit offended, "I'm a big boy I've handled scarier nightmares than Gates the Goblin - dammit I wasn't gonna call her that anymore!"

"Well, goodluck with that." Kate growled, reaching for his wrist and yanking it across her waist.

He grinned into the darkness, dropping down at her back he began threading his fingers between hers until she loosened her grip and held his hand. She snuggled in, let out a deep breath and melted into the bed as sleep took her over.

3.34am

"Kate." He hissed, his fingers drifting along her arm, "Kaaateee, wake up, please."

She was already awake, had been ever since he started talking, but she snuffled into her pillow, refusing to laugh, knowing it would only wake her up more.

His lips ghosted lightly over the shell of her ear and Castle whispered, "Beckett, I had a bad dream."

She grinned, hiding her face before rolling over and pressing herself into his side. She knew full well he'd been having a nightmare, she'd been forced to listen to it for the last twenty minutes.

"Oh, Captain, my Captain." She whimpered, laughing when his eyes flew open in shock and he struggled to sit up.

"You could hear that?"

"Mmmhmm." She laughed again, tried not to but eh, it was funny.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Why would I do that?" She leered, "I learn so much when you talk in your sleep, Castle." She rolled, took him with her, flung out her leg and landed in his lap, "Oh, Captain, why are you dressed as a German milkmaid? Really?" She questioned, smiling down at him as he glared up at her in annoyance and shock. "Oh, Captain, please don't punish me for not helping with paperwork." Kate growled, looking down at him. "I thought I was the only one who got to punish you for that?" Her fingers drifted across his chest, tweaking his nipple and making him jump, her nails raking over his ribs as she teased him.

"Get off me." He stammered, his hands bunching at her waist as he prepared to lift her, "You're evil. Evil and mean and evil. I already have images in my head, you're not helping."

She tilted her head, "You want me to help?"

"Well, it's too late now. When I was -"

"Whimpering?"

"-manly yet terrified, you could have woken me - ahhh Kate, what are you doing?"

"Helping." She grinned, pressing her weight down again and shifting it just so, "Feel better yet?"

"No." He pouted, "Do it again."

She laughed and dug her knees into his hips for leverage, her body surrounding him as she pinned him down, "There is only one woman you should be dreaming about riding you in this bed, Richard Castle." She rolled her hips enough to make him gasp and shut up, "And it is not Captain Gates."

In less than a minute she had him wholeheartedly agreeing, and whimpering for an entirely different reason.