"Well, that was a lot less eventful than I envisioned.", Castle mused and shoved his hands in the pockets of his dress pants as he leaned against the one-way mirror, "She's been madder at me for leaving the toilet seat up."
Smiling, even though he didn't feel like it, Kevin mimicked the gesture, his eyes drifting over to his partner, feeling a sense of voyeurism upon watching the private conversation between Beckett and Javi.
Part of him hoped that it would help uncover some of the issues that had plagued the even-tempered man he knew so well, who-for one reason or another- was beginning to make it a habit to taunt death whatever chance he got.
Then again, he knew said man well enough to expect that he would clam up when it came to the very subject, which he immediately did.
The events of the morning were still wearing heavily on him, having not even mentioned his strange gut-feeling from last night to anybody. What if he had been followed to his home? What if the killer had sought out Espo after the fact, hoping to add one more name to his impressive roster of victims?
"Do you think his point has merit?"
Doing his typical move of switching from funny remarks to serious conversation in the matter of a single moment, Castle looked over at him, seeing the confirmation in his eyes long before anything was said.
"Well, I guess there has been a lot going on lately.", Kevin answered and shrugged insecurely, feeling a sense of relief when Castle nodded.
"Feels like the final season of Friends where everyone goes through major life changes and they kind of…drift apart. Except for Joey. He gets to stay behind. Maybe Espo feels like he's Joey."
"Yeah, but Javi isn't nearly as funny…"
"Maybe I should call him Joey, see if he reacts?"
"As pent-up as he is, you might get him to play five-finger-filet with you for doing that…"
They chuckled for a moment as they watched Beckett and Esposito stand side by side, exchanging thoughts they couldn't hear despite the audio turned all the way up.
He didn't have to be an expert in body language to see their mutual dejection when it came to the matter, two strong characters trying to solve problems in their own unique ways until those ways inevitably collided.
"Javi's right though.", Kevin said eventually, feeling his heart pound furiously at the discomfort of putting his deepest thoughts out there for Castle to hear, "We used to be a team. Simpatico. Work together seamlessly. And now…most days, we're just four individuals doing whatever it is we're busy doing."
Much to his surprise, the writer nodded unperceptively, all that lightheartedness suddenly disappearing from his features.
"I thought it was just me feeling that way."
With his cheeks flushing, Kevin returned his attention to the interview room, seeing Javi stare blankly at the table while Beckett was talking to him, the situation mirroring much of what he'd been going through when trying to reach his best friend.
"I have no idea how to fix this, Castle.", he finally admitted, feeling awful about it despite knowing that there was little he could do from his side considering that much of said distraction was his own family situation.
The writer seemed to share the same burden of guilt, his shoulders sagging for the first time in a long time, jaws clenched as he scrambled to come up with the right words to say.
Eventually, he let out a weary sigh and took a step closer, raising his index finger to the one-way mirror to outline the silhouette of his wife.
"I'd be lying if I said I know how to fix this, my friend. All I know is that we can't give up trying."
