never cool down love - Chapter Seven
She finds herself back in nearly the same position a few hours later, sitting with Castle in her living room while they discuss their strategy for the night. The case is all-but stalled waiting on information about Lewis that they're likely not going to find, and she feels a sliver of guilt for keeping the boys in the dark about the secondary aspect of the investigation – the one she and Castle are running right now, thanks to the friend he has at an AV store who let him swoop in and "borrow" some surveillance equipment.
They've set up a camera at her door that captures traffic from both sides of the hall and hidden another series of video recorders at each of the entrances to her building (she'll just have to hope none of the other residents notice), making a basecamp on her coffee table. With any luck, they'll pick up something, a face, a courier, anything that might give them a clue as to the identity of her "admirer," instead of unnecessarily spying on her neighbors for the next eight to ten hours. Castle seems almost sure that they will, based on the level of escalation, but she's not so sure.
"Okay, I think that's it," Castle says, plugging the last of the monitors in and dusting his hands off. "Make you some coffee?" His brow furrows. "You can drink coffee?"
Kate rolls her eyes. "You've seen me drink coffee hundreds of times, Castle. I can eat or drink anything I want; I taste it, I enjoy it, I just don't get nourishment from it anymore."
"You didn't get nourishment from gummi bears and coffee before, you know," he points out, grinning at her laugh. He claps his hands. "I'll make coffee."
"Thanks," she says, watching his back as he moves to the kitchen and makes himself at home. How he's so calm about all of this, any of this, she has no idea. She would be a wreck if she were in his shoes.
She bites her lip, unsure if she should bring it up. "You okay?" she asks after a minute of deliberation.
Castle's head bobs, a little quickly for her tastes, but she doesn't call him on it. "I'm good, Beckett. I'm… good."
"It's okay if you're not, you know. I wasn't good for a long time."
He exhales, looking up from the coffee maker – hers is nothing fancy compared to the one at his place but he still treats it with the same level of care. "I just keep thinking that if I didn't know before, how much does it change now?"
"A lot?" she offers, incredulous. "For one, I would expect you to be crowing about how you told me the supernatural was real. For two – you," she stops the next thought before it can emerge.
He had told her he loves her when she was lying on the grass in May, how does this not change that?
But they don't talk about these things, they never have, and his one attempt had led to her kicking him out.
"Does it change anything for you, now that I know?" he asks, leaning on his elbows, his gaze unwavering.
"I – no," she says. "It's a relief, to be honest. But it's different for you – you've got your mom and Alexis, and your entire life… this is big."
"I won't tell them," he promises. "I'll keep your secret as long as you want and need me to."
"I know you will, Castle, and it's not that. It's… this is my life. Not just for the next few years, not just for the next few decades, it's forever. I'll get older – I've gotten older, as you might notice I don't look like I'm nineteen anymore – but it'll happen slower than it does for everyone else. And eventually the people I know will notice, and I'll… I don't know what I'll do then. Go somewhere, I guess? Start again? And it'll be that way forever."
He looks back at the coffeemaker, turning his full focus to that long enough to put the finishing touches on her mug and start his.
"Forever shouldn't have to be so lonely, Kate," he says, carrying her coffee over and holding it out. Kate takes it carefully, putting it aside for the moment. "This – knowing you're a real-life sexy vampire – changes nothing for me."
She searches his face, taking in the warmth in his eyes, the subtle flush of his cheeks. His heart has started to beat a little harder as he makes his case. He's telling her the truth.
"Besides the fact that I'm definitely going to have to get that implant now so I can live longer with you."
She catches his hand before he can return to the kitchen, getting to her feet and standing toe to toe with him. Without her shoes, she has a little more distance to cover, but she doesn't have to crane her neck too far to dust her mouth over his and hope.
His hand slips from hers, but it's not to pull away or reject her. His arm winds around her back, bringing her closer to his chest as his lips part beneath hers.
He tastes just like she remembers, sweet with the subtle hint of the breath mints he loves to pop throughout the day. He tastes like fire and life, and the joy she's sought for so long, through tragedy and pain, even through death.
"I love you," she confesses against his mouth, slipping her hand up his back. "I love you."
Castle hisses at her confession, pressing his mouth to hers with a fervor she can finally understand before gentling the kiss and resting his forehead on hers. He gulps in a breath, cupping her cheeks and taking another soft kiss from her lips before he responds,
"I love you, too."
Kate feels herself grin.
His heart thuds beneath her fingers in a steady, intoxicating tap of celebration. She finds herself counting the beats, allowing the rhythm to lull her, calm her.
It's that clarity that helps her hear the soft brush – masked as it is – of approaching footsteps in the hallway. Her eyes dart to the monitor just in time to see a figure in a hood stop at her door.
"Castle," she hisses. "They're outside."
For a man whose hands were in her hair just a few minutes ago, he moves across the apartment with surprising speed, giving her time to pull her gun from the coffee table and make her way into position.
"One," he mouths, reaching for the handle. She nods, getting into position. "Two."
He yanks the door open on three, exposing her startled visitor. The paper in their hand flutters to the ground as they jump.
"NYPD," Beckett barks, "drop whatever you have and put your hands on your head."
Of course, her order goes unheeded. They lunge her way, swinging wildly. Kate catches a glimpse of a blade in their hand and wonders if she's been off the mark; someone coming for a vampire would know that knives just piss them off – they hurt, yes, but they don't kill.
Thankfully even in the small space, she's able to dodge, trusting her partner to jump in with his usual resourceful help. She's not disappointed either, Castle sticks out his foot, sending her would-be attacker tumbling to the ground.
"You're an idiot," they seethe in Castle's direction as she kicks the knife out of their hand and jerks their arms behind their back. "Do you know what she is? She has to be stopped before she kills someone! They all have to be stopped!"
Castle squats, leaning within a foot of their suspect. "She's a cop, and you're under arrest for harassment and assault of a police officer, and if we're really, really lucky, the murder of Lewis Barrington as well."
Beckett pulls their hood down, revealing a thin-faced young man with wild eyes. He's barely older than Alexis, mid-twenties at most, and her stomach lurches.
"Lewis Barrington had it coming," they spit. "Every last one of you monsters have it coming."
"If you know about me, you know I'm not like him, or any of the other people he's turned," she says, feeling her throat tighten. God, how many people had he turned by now? How many others had he tricked into this life?
"You're all the same, one way or another. When it comes down to it, we're all just lambs to your slaughter." He turns back to Castle. "She'll kill you, too, if she has half a chance."
Rick shakes his head. "No, she won't. She's a victim, too. What's your name, buddy?"
"David."
"Who did Lewis take from you, David?"
The man – boy, really – tries to stand firm, he does, but his face crumples a moment later, and his voice cracks on two words, "My sister. That bastard pulled her into his cult and used her until she was gone. Until she was a monster, too."
David clears his throat, his eyes hardening once more. "They have to die – really die – all of them."
Castle shakes his head. "That's not going to happen. I'm – we're both sorry for what your family went through, but this isn't the way to honor your sister's memory."
"Fuck honor. Honor doesn't bring her back. It doesn't bring Emily back."
Kate shuts her eyes for a moment, understanding that desperation and anger all too well. "Neither does revenge. Now get up, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, and I highly suggest you do that."
She hauls the boy to his feet, keeping a firm hand on his wrists. "Castle, can you-?" she motions to the knife and the belongings they'll need at the precinct after she finishes Mirandizing David.
"On it," her partner says, jogging over to take care of it while she holds David.
Castle returns a moment later, brushing her shoulder with his hand. She exhales, slipping her feet into the shoes he drops for her and taking the jacket he holds out.
"Let's go," she says once they're ready, already steeling herself for more of David's angry ranting, for having to deny all of it in front of her colleagues at the precinct.
"You okay?" Castle asks as they haul the boy down to her car, keeping his voice low. She nods quickly, lifting her head to offer him a faint smile. "You know he doesn't know anything about you or who you are, Kate. But I do."
Her hand brushes his once David is secured in the backseat.
"Yeah, I know," she says. "And I will be - okay, that is."
Her partner nods. "Good."
"You okay?" she asks, watching him nod. "Good. And um… once we're done at the precinct… do you think you'll want to come back here?" she asks, raking her teeth over her lip. "I can answer more of your questions or… something."
Castle grins, stepping into her space and pressing his mouth to hers once more, his kiss biting and sharp. A delicious promise of everything that's to come.
"Oh, I definitely want that."
"e'en Earth can never cool down love"
-The Bride of Corinth by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Thank you all for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this story. It was a departure in a way from my usual, and I was a little nervous and a lot excited to step outside my comfort zone again, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.
Be well, everyone. Stay safe and healthy.
Until next time.