AirDrop and Pick Up
A Caskett Meeting AU

"You're staring, Beckett."

She's not. Of course she's not; if she were, she wouldn't be able to turn and glare at her best friend for making the wild accusation. She's not staring.

Lanie laughs, waving her freshly manicured hand in dismissal. "We both saw tall, dark, and handsome jump into the cab back there, Kate. There's no shame in trying to get a second look. I have a pretty good view from my side, in fact."

"I'm not," she insists, moving her eyes between all three of her mirrors – wondering not for the first time now egregious an abuse of power it would be to turn on her lights just to get out of the traffic jam they're currently stuck in.

Picking up Lanie from the airport had been a favor she'd been happy to do for her friend but leaving is proving to be a bigger pain in the ass than necessary. Especially now that Lanie thinks her eyes have been drawn to the guy who'd come tearing out of baggage claim and practically flung himself into the back of a yellow cab before it pulled away from the curb.

And okay, yes, she'd kept an eye on him at first, but that's only because he'd been running across a lane with cars pulling in and darting out. The last thing she needs is to have to stop her own car and get out and administer first aid to some idiot because his own stupidity got him winged by a taxi. Of course, as a cop, she'd noticed that he's well-dressed, if a little rumpled from flying, and she'd clocked enough of his facial features to make it easier to ID him if she ever needs to. It's also purely for public safety that she watches him squirm in the back of the cab, watches his head dip, and sees him settle in his seat.

But she's not staring.

"Uh huh," Lanie clips, reaching for her drink in the center console. "S'that why you keep looking back specifically at the cab while we're at a dead stop and you've got no reason to be checking your blind spots? Because you're not staring."

"I'm–" she cuts herself off, dropping back against her seat. "I'm just making sure he's not trying to carjack the driver, that's all."

Her friend snorts in disbelief. "Nothing to do with the fact that he's cute at all."

"Nope."

Lanie rolls her eyes. "Whatever you say, Kate. Actually, that leads me to my next question: how's it going with Ronnie."

"About as well as this traffic," she says, shaking her head. "He thought my work is – let's see if I can remember exactly how he put it – commendable, but a little too much to deal with, so we opted to limit our interactions to the occasional drink."

"Ouch." Lanie's face softens into a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, honey."

Beckett shrugs. "It's not the end of the world."

"He seemed so good with it when we met him, didn't he?"

She laughs, shaking her head. "Everyone is good with it when they've had a few shots of tequila, Lanie. It's when they haven't that the reality sinks in."

"Okay, well, we'll just find you someone else. Maybe minus the –"

Lanie stops at the loud crash of cymbals that signifies a notification on Beckett's phone (though she has no clue when or how that happened, it's not like she spends much time playing with her ring tones).

"AirDrop?" Lanie reads. "Is that-"

"I have no idea," she says, freeing a hand to open the notification. Normally she might swipe it away and forget about it, but with Lanie in the car, she's curious.

The cackle that spills from her friend's mouth is ear-splitting. "Oh my god, this is priceless. Rick would like to share a note. Accept."

She gapes, allowing her head to drop back to the headrest as her eyes scan the traffic ahead. Maybe she should use the lights and siren to get the hell out of here.

"To the girl staring at me from the really old car…" Lanie reads aloud, snickering at the apt description of her police cruiser. Maybe someday soon the brass will get that budget for new cars approved, but she's not holding her breath. "Hope this is you, and oh, yes that is his number."

Beckett covers her face with her hands. "Shut up. Some random man did not just send me his number."

Lanie plucks her phone from the dash mount before she can argue, taking the number and putting it into Kate's messages app.

"What are you doing?"

"Texting him back, obviously. What are you doing?"

She grapples for the phone, grunting when Lanie moves it just out of her reach. Damn seatbelt.

"You can't just text him back like that!"

"Why not? He's certainly got guts. Let's see what he has to say."

"What if he's a complete creep?"

"You never know until you talk to him," Lanie singsongs, her fingers flying over the touch screen of Kate's phone. "Which I am setting up for you."

Beckett opens and closes her mouth, searching for something that could dissuade her friend. "How do you know he wasn't trying to send that to you? You got a better look at him, maybe he was talking to you."

"Nice try, but I wasn't the one staring. You, on the other hand, have been casing that taxi since it pulled out behind us."

She growls but doesn't bother arguing again. It won't do any good. "Just… don't be weird, Lanie. Weird-er, anyway. This is already weird as hell."

Her friend chuckles beside her. "Don't worry, Kate. I'm just suggesting getting a coffee at the café in the park – a nice public place – in about thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes?" she squawks. "But I thought I was driving you home?"

"I'll grab AirDrop boy's cab when we stop," Lanie says easily, her voice airy and unconcerned with how baffling and absurd this entire thing is. "He's already checked with the cabbie, it's fine."

Kate groans, pressing a hand to her forehead. This cannot be happening. Not only is she stuck in traffic with her meddling best friend, she also now has a coffee date with the stranger in the car behind hers.

"There. All set. You just focus on getting us there in one piece. No more staring, Kate; you'll see him up close soon enough."

She sighs. "I knew I should've let Esposito pick you up today."

Kate recognizes the jittery flutter in her belly the closer they get to the park, but she ignores it in favor of making sure she gets there in one piece. She can be nervous in those scant minutes between finding a parking space and meeting AirDrop Rick, after making sure he really isn't a serial killer, of course.

"I really hate you," she says once she stops at the curb and puts on the parking brake.

Lanie laughs, already unbuckling her seatbelt and gathering her purse from the floormat. "No, you don't. You hate that you're out of your large and extremely encompassing comfort zone. It's an impromptu blind date, Kate, that's all it is. I've set you up on those before."

"And they've all turned out so well."

Lanie tosses the door open. "Come on, some of them were fun. And that's what you need. Have some fun for a few hours."

Kate slides from the driver's side, careful to keep her door from extending too far into traffic. She sees AirDrop Rick's taxi pull up at the end of the block and the lanky – and okay, yes – handsome man jump out.

Her friend's eyes move down the sidewalk and a sly grin takes over her face. "And there's your chance. Pop the trunk and I'll grab my suitcase and get out of your hair."

"Lanie."

"And if it's miserable, you can call me on your way home and yell at me until I learn my lesson about setting you up on dates."

"Which you won't," she drawls.

The sparkle in Lanie's eyes is confirmation enough that she's right. "Come on, let's get you two introduced."

It feels a little juvenile to have her friend all-but dragging her by the elbow to meet a boy, but the closer they get, she's honestly glad for the company. AirDrop Rick's steps are sure, and he offers a confident smile when they get closer, but she sees his cheeks darken a little, sees his eyes widen. Honestly, that endears him to her a little bit. Cocky demeanor or not, he can't hide that reaction.

It's her jaw that drops however, as they close the remaining distance, stopping just a few feet apart.

No, it can't be. There is absolutely no way.

Well, at least it makes sense why she was staring.

"Rick?" Lanie asks when she says nothing for far too long. "AirDrop Rick?"

He chuckles, lifting a hand. "Present and accounted for."

If her friend realizes who they're talking to, she doesn't let on. Instead, Lanie just turns, nudging Beckett a little in front of her.

"This is Kate. She's a cop – hence why her car is so old – and she will put you in handcuffs if you cross her. Have a great coffee!"

With that, Lanie darts down the block to the waiting cab, waving over her shoulder as Beckett yells for her to come back right now. Kate catches the wink she throws her way as she shuts the door to the cab and refrains from gesturing in return.

Her companion laughs, holding out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Kate. I'm-"

"AirDrop Rick," she supplies, pressing her lips together and taking a moment to get a handle on herself. She knows exactly who he is, but she's not going to let on just yet.

First, she needs to figure out why Richard Castle is AirDropping his number to random women outside of the airport – and then she needs to make sure she's not having a fever dream that's making her think it's happening to her.

He grins. "I usually go by just Rick, but AirDrop Rick works, too."

She shakes his hand, noting how soft his fingers are against her palm, how warm and firm his grip is, the way her stomach flips at the touch. His eyes meet hers and he doesn't look away until she pulls her hand back.

"Well, that's what Lanie saved you in my phone as," she says, clearing her throat. "So, um… I was promised coffee."

Rick chuckles, nodding. "Of course. My treat."

"It'd better be," she says, falling in step beside him. The flutter in her belly hasn't calmed, hasn't quieted, but it's not an unwelcome feeling. Not entirely, anyway; it's been a long time since any of Lanie's suggested dates – or any of her own dates – have made her feel this way.

"So, you're a cop-"

"So, AirDrop, huh?" she asks, laughing a little at the way their voices trip over each other.

Rick looks amused as well. "Ah, yes. I don't usually…"

"Make passes at random women from a cab?" she finishes for him, watches him nod.

"Uh huh. In the interest of full disclosure, I saw you at baggage claim first, picking up your friend, but I got a call. You'd already left by the time I got off the phone, so I thought that would be that."

She nods, looking at the path ahead to be sure she's not going to run into anyone.

"It was just luck that my cab happened to be behind your car. I can be impulsive sometimes, though," he continues, lifting a shoulder as they make their way into the café and take a seat at a bistro table on the patio. "So, I figured why not see what could happen. That AirDrop thing is pretty cool, huh?"

"It's pretty something," she murmurs, making a mental note to look through her privacy settings for the thing.

"My daughter told me about it – usually I just use it to send her ridiculous jokes and reminders to not study."

Off her furrowed brow and quizzical glance, he adds, "She's far less impulsive than I am; sometimes it helps to get her to lighten up a little bit."

Kate nods. "Ah. How old is she?"

She knows he has a daughter from his biography on the back of his books, but he keeps that part of his life so private, she's surprised to hear his kid is old enough to have a phone.

"Fifteen going on fifty," he quips, thanking a server for bringing them water along with a couple of menus. "She's great, though. I was actually at the airport putting her on a plane to visit her mom."

That's sweet. She nods, noting the sincerity in his voice. He's not putting her on.

"Are you hungry?" he asks. "I'm starving; Alexis and I didn't have time to eat before getting her to JFK this morning."

Tugging her lip between her teeth, she debates. This is supposed to be just a cup of coffee, a short bit of time out of her day to appease Lanie. He may be Richard Castle, but she doesn't need to–

"Yeah," she hears herself saying, her mouth working without her brain's input. "Yeah, I am hungry. But you're still buying me a coffee, Rick."

Her companion grins, tapping his menu. "Of course. Now, tell me about you, Kate. What's it like being a cop?" he asks, leaning forward, his eyes bright with intrigue.

She huffs in amusement. She's heard that question before but he's the first she believes genuinely wants to know. There's no faking his curiosity, the interest in his body language.

"It's not at all what you think," she warns, licking her lips. It doesn't escape her notice how he watches her lift her water glass to her lips and swallow.

"That's okay," he assures. "I'm kind of a mystery writer–"

She refrains from snorting at that. Kind of? That's surprisingly modest given that the Ledger has called referred to him as New York's Hottest Literary Playboy on more than one occasion.

"–so, I like hearing the stuff most people think is boring. Or gross. Or crazy and weird." His lips lift a little higher at her raised eyebrow. "All that to say, Kate, tell me everything."

Later in the evening, she steps into her kitchen with her phone. The take-out she'd ordered will be here soon, but in the meantime, she needs something to drink. Water's easiest, so that's what she gets, pulling a bottle from the fridge and unscrewing the cap.

She's been ignoring Lanie's smug Well? text for the last few hours, but as she stands with her back against the counter, her foot propped against a cabinet, she pulls up the messages app and types out a response.

Did you know? That it was Richard Castle in that cab?

A wink is all she receives in response, which makes her roll her eyes. God, her friend is going to be insufferable from here on out, unbelievably obnoxious.

It was fine. Nothing too earth-shattering.

She bites her lip, erasing the latter portion of the message and adding,

We had lunch, too. Nothing big.

"Kate?"

Her head lifts at the groggy call of her name. Rick rubs his eye with the heel of his hand as he lumbers through her bedroom doorway, giving her the opportunity to look him over – starting with his bare feet. His boxers are slung low on his hips and his chest is bare – not that she expected any different, given that his shirt is draped over her own body – and he has the most endearing case of bedhead she's seen in a while.

"In here." She puts her phone down on the counter, ignoring the buzz of Lanie's latest text as he crosses her living room to join her. "Hey, sleepyhead. Food will be here soon – I took a guess at your order, but I got enough of mine so if you hate it, I'll share. Unless you hate that, too."

He smiles easily, taking the water bottle from her hands and lifting it to his lips. She watches his throat work with each sip, her mouth going dry once more.

"I'm sure what you picked is great. I'm pretty easy to please," he says once he swallows, stepping a little deeper into her space. She hums, slipping her palm along his bare side, moving to trace the ridges of his spine with nimble fingers.

"Oh, well that I know," she teases, lifting her chin in invitation. Her feet shift as he nudges his leg between hers, making room for him.

He takes the hint, lowering his lips to hers, palming her hip even as his other arm slips around her and draws her into his chest.

Their sighs come in tandem at the rap of a fist against her door. Rick drops his forehead to hers.

"Too bad they can't AirDrop the food to us," he mumbles against her mouth, coming back for one last kiss. As if he isn't going to return to her living room in just a minute and a half anyway.

She puffs a laugh against his lips. They both know that is not at all how AirDrop works, but it's fitting that he'd say it, given their afternoon.

"Yeah," she agrees inanely, pressing her hand to her lips and watching his backside as he pulls away. "But at least I already paid for it, right? No need to go looking for your wallet, right Ricky?"

Rick makes a show of patting his ass as if trying to find something in his pockets. She shakes her head in amusement, waving him on as the delivery person knocks again – more insistent, even though they could just as easily leave the food on the doorstep for them to retrieve.

This time, she is most definitely staring at him. And it is one hell of a view.

For Jenn on her birthday! I hope you liked this!

Based on a photo prompt: A screenshot of a tweet (with accompanying images) that says "So I'm driving and I notice the guy behind me is cute so I'm checking him out in my rearview mirror and HE DEADASS AIRDROPS ME HIS NUMBER?"