I found like three typos in my last chapter so I'm very sorry about that...it was posted at 2am and I don't use a beta. Any and all typos or mistakes pertaining to cameras or France or really anything else are 100% on me! I try to do as much research as I can but there's only so long you can stare at French pastry shops ;) (hint: they will be making an appearance)
I had another chem test...and then was stress-watching Cops and Robbers (who else loves that episode as much as me?) so it's really messing with my ability to write haha
Enjoy!
Their day was starting to slow and her father's watch was rounding three.
The last stop. Un Petit Oiseau. Cleverly translating into "A Little Birdy" it was no surprise that it was an antique print shop. Letters and postcards and diaries and maps and everything in between. Kate had no doubt they would both find great joy in this shop.
Beautiful spring colors decorated the shop and Kate found it amusing there was someone their own ages behind the register. Just from her knowledge it seemed like someone's grandmother would've run it. She supposed it could be a family member.
"Bonjour." He smiled at them, another brass bell above them signaling their entrance.
"Bonjour." Kate smiled back,
"Now, you look like an American." The man suddenly spoke in perfect English she wasn't expecting to hear,
"That obvious, huh?" She chuckled back, looking up to Rick.
"Well, your accent for one and when you're an American in Paris you get really good at spotting other Americans in Paris."
"Ah, ok." Kate tucks a piece of hair from that fallen from the makeshift bun she'd fashioned on the metro, "What brings you here? Is this your shop?"
"Lord, no. The shop's my grandmother's but I run it for her over the summer so she can get a little bit of a break."
"It's absolutely beautiful in here. I'm sure you're a good grandson." Kate says, still taking in all the intricacies. The faded posters and signs hanging from the walls; the pale blue peeking out from behind it; bundles of letters and diaries tied together with thin twine and ribbons; the trunks and dressers clustered together.
"My grandma always enjoyed beautiful things, I do as well." The grandson looked straight to her, making his intention quite clear. It was at that moment she felt Rick's arm snake around her waist. If he was trying to be subtle, he didn't quite hit the mark and she saw the man look down to the arm currently staking its claim.
"Well," He started, "I'll let you guys walk around. My name is Pierre, I'd be happy to answer any questions; history of some of these pieces would blow your mind away."
"I'm sure we'll manage just fine." The same fake smile and cordiality Kate saw directed at Gina was currently making its way to Pierre.
"Thank you." Kate tried to smoothen out the situation as Rick started in the opposite direction.
"Real subtle, Castle." She whispered, hoping they were out of earshot,
"I wasn't trying to be subtle."
"He was just trying to make conversation."
"Yeah, I'm sure he'd love too. Over drinks, that is."
"You know, you're kinda cute when you're jealous." Kate looks up to him again, this time a feeling of adoration sweeping over her,
"I'm not jealous." Rick says, matching her tone and stepping closer.
"You're not? Then what was that back there? You don't think Nikki Heat is that oblivious, do you?"
"Nikki Heat, huh?" He mumbles against her lips, "So you've finally accepted the name?"
Kate lets her arms drape over his shoulders, intertwining at the base of his neck and allowing herself to be fully present in the moment-if Rick wants to give her long luscious kisses not twenty feet away from a man who was trying to flirt with her, she was going to let him.
She was a strong, independent, modern woman who could've said something to Pierre but she was also still able to enjoy the awkward but sort of adorable exchange between the two.
Her slight qualms to excessive PDA, however, had not been completely banished and she made him stop after his lips started to coast along her jaw.
"Castle," she let her voice sound more questioning than declarative. It felt wonderful but enough had to be enough. "This isn't the time or the place. And now we have to buy something so it doesn't look like we used his shop to-"
"Ok, ok, my beautiful thing, you've made your point." Castle turned Pierre's own words into a more meaningful sentiment.
Kate flicks her eyes to the front of the store and thankfully sees Pierre preoccupied. Jealous Rick was endearing for those few moments but she didn't exactly want to tamp down the green-eyed monster again. Not that Rick would ever be a monster but the point still stood.
Her attention was drawn to a stack of worn photoboxes on the back wall. She reached for them, just barely within her grasp, the royal blue of her sweater riding up.
"Is that ink?" Rick questioned, at the sight of her hip now in his view.
"Maybe." Kate smirked,
"You didn't tell me you have a tattoo. Wh-where's the rest of it?" He fumbles for the last word,
"What, Castle? I didn't tell you about the Rebel Becks days? I have two."
"Kate!"
"Why is that so fascinating to you?"
"Because I didn't expect it. Now I gotta know where they are." Rick seems to regained his composure,
She just raises an eyebrow, 'That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Safe to say, Rebel Becks might not have been fully realized in my mind. I think you left out a few stories." He insinuates,
"I most certainly did. I had a partner in crime and let's just say that if they were to make it into a Richard Castle novel, the boys might be solving my homicide."
"Completely off the record!" He responds quickly, hoping to glimpse into the world of Kate Beckett for Kate's sake and not of Nikki's.
"Rick, no. First off, my living room is bigger than this entire place and I'm not giving anybody here a show-"
"Why? Does it require a show?" That gets him a hard smack on the arm,
"Oh, just you wait Mr. Castle, just you wait." Kate shakes her head and walks off to the nearest table. Opening the dusty photobox in her hand, it reveals strips and strips of camera negatives. The box was overflowing and so was Kate's mind with the stories they could hold. She knew all too well that pictures were like memories. Each one valued and sacred.
As he had all the other times, Kate noticed her traveling companion reappear in her periphery with what looked to be a diary in his hand.
"What's that all about?"
"I'm not quite sure, From the first entry, it sounds like this guy who wrote this was a real hard-boiled PI! It's dated from the 20's!" Rick's excitement was getting the better of him again and it reignited the smile on Kate's face.
"See? Now you have a plot line and can avoid thinking or writing about my mysterious tattoo." Kate chuckled.
They returned to near the front of the store, a cache of trunks situated there. Pierre had mentioned them earlier and they'd grabbed her attention from the start.
"Most of those trunks you're looking at are from World War II." Pierre's voice popped in, "They sat at the ends of beds or in offices as a safe of sorts. Or at least a filing cabinet. Antique shops in the States call them Army footlockers."
There was an empty leather album on top which she promptly handed off to Rick. She saw him place the album next to the box of negatives on the glass display case serving as the cashier's counter.
Kate reaches for the closest and first she'd seen. The trunk was a simple, beat-up, once-army green yet now-eroded. Upholstery tacks lined the edges and formed an X across the top; the leather that had lined the trunk long gone but still leaving a faded outline. 'AVR' was clearly stenciled in blocky white letters above the center latch. Considering the condition, the stencil wasn't nearly as faded, though the paint had chipped in places.
She ran her hand over the stencil in reverence, "What do you think 'AVR' means? Was that a war acronym?"
"Not sure, to be honest. I know this one is specifically from World War II though. It'll mostly likely end up being French or British."
"Do those buckles still work?" She asked, admiring the three brass latches. The middle one had a hole through the center for a lock that was nowhere to be seen and obviously hadn't been used in quite some time.
"They should. They might stick a little but I don't see why not?" Pierre shrugged,
Kate fiddled with the latches and buckles carefully before lifting the top, the corners giving her some trouble.
"Ooh!" Pierre exclaimed, "You found one with a surprise!"
Rick's attention had been drawn back to the PI diary and immediately snapped back to the situation at Pierre's praise. Men.
"I thought we'd sold all of them. 'AVR' must've been someone's initials. Personal trunks like these are like dossiers into someone's life, like some sort of twisted map, huh?"
"Where do you find things like this?" Rick marveled at the find. She looked to him, as she pulled out just a few items. Pamphlets and maps; notebooks and letters; pictures and postcards.
"Estate sales, mostly. Sometimes relatives bring them in. Other antique shops."
A case tucked into the corner was labeled 'Imperial'. Type-written pages tucked in the spaces it would allow, "Rick, look. I think there's a typewriter in here." She looked to him from her half-squatting, half-bent position. His whole face seemed to light up and his eyes might have bugged out had he been any more in shock.
"And they don't bother to look inside? Where's the fun in that? The story? The mystery?" Rick questioned, that shocked, nearly monotone quality overtaking his normal one. She can already see his writer's imagination spinning, the wheels working overtime.
"Yes, it can seem irrational but it lets you guys have the mystery now. If someone can't appreciate the story, it would be wasted in their possession."
'How much?" They asked in unison,
"Promise to come back and tell me the story, you can have it."
"Kate, one problem. That's not gonna fit on the metro with us." It was rather large. At least the length and height of the foot of whoever's bed it belonged to.
"We'll be sure to deliver it. We have a fleet of vans for the larger items. Where are you guys staying?"
"The Le Meurice. But, please, let us pay you for delivery. You've already been so generous." Kate insisted,
"I won't say no to that." Pierre chuckles, taking down their room numbers, "We'll have it there by eight?"
"Works for me. I'm an investigator by nature, this will be an interesting project, that's for sure."
"I can't wait to hear what you guys find out. If you need any historical resources, my grandma has plenty and would be happy to give you guys any names."
"I really appreciate it." Kate says,
Paying for the diary, the empty album and the box of negatives, they wrapped up their shopping spree, tucked away their finds and said their goodbyes.
/
The walk from the shop to the metro station was short. "That was the last place. Are you thinking of going back to the hotel?" Rick asks,
The sun wasn't quite setting but the sky was starting to blend the blues into dusk. "I wouldn't be opposed to it. The bags are getting heavy and my feet are getting tired but if there's any more little shops you want to whisk me off, I could be persuaded."
"We don't have to go today but I've always wanted to do a pastry tour of Paris. You know how you did the shops today? But with all things sweet and sugary and chocolate and French."
"Castle, are you trying to subtly tell me I'm too skinny?"
"No! Not at all! I just really like food. And speaking of food, we should probably lock down dinner because we're not gonna want to go out again after we get back to the room." Kate just shook her head, as she found herself often doing, "But come on," He continued, "tell me you haven't eaten good today."
"I'm still thinking about that crepe." Kate acquiesced.
"And there you go." He swiped the metro card, feeling validated.
"Kinda want something simple tonight, though. Sometimes French food is too fancy for me. There's a reason I live on pizza and Chinese half the time." Kate expressed,
"I'd be down for Chinese. Let's find a place and we can have it delivered, watch a movie, wait for the mystery trunk to arrive."
"I promised Lanie I'd call her tonight, depending on time, maybe you guys can meet?"
"This is the sassy medical examiner, right?"
"Yes! If this happens, please call her that." Kate laughed, leaning into Rick as he scrolled through TripAdvisor and the metro rumbled underneath her feet.
I'm an utter history nerd so that will definitely be showing up! I hope y'all like the little 'case' that's being set up. I have an outline of how I want it to go so we'll see :)