Breaking news! I'm on Tumblr! Just posting my old fics for now, but I have some image prompted stories in the works that will be posted exclusively there!

@do-it-for-the-fandom

A few mini-scenes/teasers that I've written. They don't really fit into any of my bigger stories so I figured I'd just put a few together here.

Enjoy... : )

He wanted nothing more in this moment than to reach out to her.

To hold her.

To comfort her.

But he couldn't risk someone seeing. He couldn't risk anyone knowing. Not that a comforting hug was anything more than friendly - but rumours had been swirling around the two of them since they began working together and they didn't need to add any fuel to that fire. If the wrong person caught wind of their relationship, that would mark the end of... well, so much.

So he would wait.

Wait until they were out of the precinct - out of view from the prying eyes - and back in the safety of one of their apartments.

That's just how it had to be... for now, at least. The closer they became, the further away they felt they had to hide. Scared of it all - their sanctuary, their dynamic, their team - coming crumbling down around them.

Their moments together - locked away from the world, where they didn't have to hide - were all the more fleeting lately, with budget cuts leading to an extreme reduction of NYPD employees.

Everyone needs to pull their weight... the memos read. But this wasn't pulling their weight - this was pulling theirs, plus at least one other full-time employees worth.

She was thankful to have Castle, who - due to not being an official paid employee - was free to pull as much overtime as she was... giving the three detectives a rotating roster of 'overtime-free' days. Or, as Esposito had called it, enough time to start to feel human again before having to dive back into the chaos.

The insanity of their working roster, paired with the deadline for his next novel looming dangerously close, had left them longing for one another in a way they hadn't experienced in their short time together.

It was intense - almost painful - how much he wanted to kiss her... wanted to trace the shape of her lips with his thumb... wanted to feel her body pressed against his. He would always appreciate their stolen moments in the break room - those transient moments where they stood just a little too close, looked at each other just a little too lovingly - but nothing compared to the feel of her skin on his.

Tonight had been the first night in over a month that they were both free from other commitments. Free to do whatever they wanted. Ten whole hours where they weren't on call, at the precinct or locked away furiously typing out overdue chapters.

Their brains - their sharp, logical brains - told them they should spent those hours relaxing... catching up on sleep that they so desperately needed. Their bodies begged for reprieve from their unmerciful schedules. But their hearts - their doting, ardently devoted hearts - lead the way, yearning for closeness.

They were inseparable from the moment they crashed through the loft door - hands all over each other, mouths ravenously claiming what was rightfully theirs.

Dinner could wait.

Sleep would come soon enough.

It was time for them to relent. To give into that burning passion that ignited with nothing more than a simple touch...

A longing stare...

A whispered sweet nothing...

Another rough case. For everyone, but particularly for her. The cases seemed to be effecting her differently late. Effecting her more.

Once they wrapped up, the boys had offered to take her out for drinks... take her mind off of things. Even Lanie had extended a not-so-subtle invitation for her to stay the night. It was obvious they worried about her going home to an empty apartment when there was obviously so much on her mind. So many bad memories that had been dug up due to this case.

But what they didn't know was that she wouldn't be going home alone. She wouldn't be going home. She would be going to him. To the one place she had refuge from the worlds burdens... to the one place she felt protected... safe. Where she felt like nothing could bring her down.

Tonight, she would be tucked away in his arms. Where she could drift into slumber while listening to the peaceful rhythm of his heart beating in his chest. Where she belonged...

It was late, and he was already asleep. She had let herself in with the key he had gifted her, crawled into his bed and collapsed against the warmth of his body. She hadn't intended on waking him up, but she felt his arms wrap instinctively around her as he placed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I missed you." He mumbled into her hair. She smiled into his chest, his sleepy voice setting off a flutter within her heart.

Nothing would ever compare to this. Nothing could ever compare to this. She buried her face in his shirt, taking in his scent. "I missed you, too."