8th February
It's been a horrid morning. A game of cat and mouse between their suspects, each rolling on the other with something more shocking, more incriminating than the last piece of information offered. The lawyers looked quite smug as Beckett and Esposito moved between rooms. Castle and Ryan had been instructed to stay in a viewing room each, report back to them before they changed rooms. Then Castle had stepped forward, announced to them it wasn't working and strode across to the other viewing room, finding Ryan looking as stoic as he feels, trying to understand.
Ryan hadn't taken any encouragement to leave the room, form a new strategy.
They all been tossing theories around, moving things on the board, circling them, everything now beginning to become clear, red and blue marker pointing to only one possible conclusion. But the others hadn't seen what was apparently blaringly obvious to Castle.
"They're partners," he offered the detectives, their backs to him as the examined the board again, taking pause from a theory that maybe the lead had changed hands.
All of them had turned to face him and he knew they were convinced.
"Everything is equal. It's like they both took part in every step of the process."
He watches Kate nod, and flick her eyes back to the board. Esposito and Ryan keep watching him, waiting for something else he assumes. But he hasn't got anything else to offer, and it seems Beckett has her own plan. She's grabbed something, a picture, and it headed for the rooms. He follows, but not before he slides today's gift along the desk, nestling it amongst papers. There are others he's been ferreting away all morning, he slipped two into the pocket of her coat, put one beside her keys in the drawer, one's tucked behind the corner of her keyboard so when she draws it closer later, she'll expose it. But he has to stop thinking about tiny candy hearts for now and focus on this interrogation. To crack these guys they need to be more in sync than they are.
They've got their answers, finally. He's been watching her shuffle papers, organising the paperwork process for a few minutes when he sees her wrap her fingers are the pile closest to him, the pile with a heart, he takes his leave.
"Coffee?" he asks, leaning over and snagging her mug, giving her a quick smile before heading off to the break room. He doesn't bother to wait for her answer. Why would he. She's never said no.
When he sets the mug down in front of her she smiles her thanks, slides the orange confection to the slide of her mouth. He doesn't miss the quick glimpse of the candy.
He doesn't know if it was intentional or not, but he knows she's found it. She's found 'Me&You', he can tell by the colour. A simple one, a safe one.
But then she's settling into her desk again and he knows it won't be long before she finds the next one.
It doesn't take long, barely a minute. It's as soon as he forced himself to seem impassive, settled into his game, just after he hit 'play' on the opening screen he heard her stop shuffling about. He flicks his eyes up to watch her eyeing the green candy curiously. Obviously not suspecting another.
But he knows this message is appropriate because she's smiling again. 'You Found Me' gets clenched in her fist as she flicks her eyes to him. He just shrugs and goes back to his game, flicking his eyes back to her to watch her slide it into her mouth with her thumb.
Once again she's almost completely alone in the silence of the bullpen. Castle is half asleep in the chair beside her, she isn't sure what he's doing on his phone but he hasn't stopped typing for almost an hour. She suspects he's making notes, planning out some scene or chapter she won't ask about. She is curious though.
She'd tried to send him home, multiple times. Not even a phone call from his daughter had prompted his departure today. She's suspicious she is the reason he's skipped out on dinner and a movie with his daughter but she can't say anything. How does she say something to a man whose been dropping candy hearts on her desk all day?
Whatever he's doing, he's sticking around for a reason.
But he can't possibly be, waiting for her to find another candy.
She'd found the 'Heat Wave' and had to hide her face behind her hands to stifle the laughter. He'd just muttered something about it being too good an opportunity to pass up and grabbed her coffee mug again, another refill. She'd found three more while he'd been gone, decided to look for them then set them on the paper on her desk for when he returned.
"You ruined it," he'd whispered as he leaned across her, placing the mug on her far side, away from the candies in its usual spot and an excuse to move closer, whisper to avoid the ever attentive ears of her team mates, their team mates.
She'd just shook her head at him and slipped the pink 'Dream Team' into her mouth, that one she could swallow, chew at that moment. The others lying before her, from her coat pocket were a little heavier, a little harder to swallow.
She'd covered the with a loose paper, just to avoid having them stare back at her as she worked, conceal them from a curious passerby, cover them from nosey colleagues across from her.
She'd drunk her coffee much quicker than was necessary; suddenly decided she needs a refill. She wasn't too proud to ask him to make her a coffee, but today she didn't want to. She wanted the excuse for the minute alone, so she grabbed his half-full mug and asked "refill?" loud enough that the others would hear, but not raise suspicion.
He'd eyed her curiously, flicked his eyes to her desk, and noted the lack of candy. "Sure," he'd offered and followed her across the room.
As soon as he'd shut the door she'd turned, stepped toward him, a challenge she had hoped he wouldn't shy away from. He hadn't, just eyed her curiously, studied every about her, her face, her stance, anything his eyes could find he watched with a fascinated curiosity.
"If you're going to yell don't do it here," he'd said quietly.
She'd just been about to speak when he'd beaten her to it.
"What?" she'd managed. "Why would I yell?" She'd been curious.
When his shoulders had slumped a little, at her shock she'd realised he'd readied himself for a fight. That wasn't even on her radar.
"Castle," she says slowly, sucking in a deep breath as she glances to the windows surrounding them, the blinds slanted half closed, obscuring most of the view, shrouding the walls of this fishbowl. But then she realises she doesn't care who sees. To anyone walking by her partner looks upset, like he needs a moment and she's giving him the opportunity to speak quietly, privately. It's not the first time she's seen people come in this room for a moments quiet. Sure, none of them are leaving candy hearts across the others desk and are fearful of their response, but still. Some privacy is some privacy.
"I wouldn't. I wanted to ask you… I need to know what it means." She stole his wrist as he moved to cross his arms, her mug hanging from her fingers, probably crashed into his wrist, leaving a mark he won't mention. She'll apologise in a minute, once she sorts this out. He'd been forced to step with her, back deeper into the room. She turned him, angled them so she'd be concealed behind his wide shoulders should anyone burst into the room.
Then he'd eyed her curiously, considering her words, considering the position she'd just put them in as well, no doubt.
"It's the truth." Then he'd slipped both mugs from her hands, unhooked her fingers from the cool ceramic and placed them on the table. All she'd been able to do was watch as he slid his fingers over her clenched fists, begging her silently to open them. She'd swallowed, then obliged.
"This one first," he'd said as he turned the oddly purplish-blue confection over in his fingertip, rolling it along her palm.
She'd swallowed, re-read the writing to be sure which one he was referring to. 'Crazy 4 U'certainly had been the easier of the two to explain.
"You've known this one's been true for…'" he'd sighed before continuing, "years."
She'd just hummed her response, her agreement. It hadn't made it any easier to read, to pull from her pocket expecting another witty reference, safer options. At least it hadn't been an 'I love you'. Then she leans back, studies him. She knows he wouldn't say it on some confection, but she hadn't thought he'd say it the way he had the first time, forced from him like she'd slip away. She almost had.
"How long have you known?" she'd asked quietly. Tit for tat, it was only fair.
"When did I not know?" he'd responded softly as he stole the heart from her palm.
He'd held it up between two fingers for her to see. "This one," he'd flicked his eyes to it, then back to hers, let her watch it while he spoke, his eyes too intense for her to meet as he continued, "should have been easy."
She'd done it on a whim, stolen it from his fingers with her mouth. He'd still had her hands captive in his so it's not like she'd had much other choice. She hadn't missed the quiet groan that had slipped from his mouth.
It seemed he hadn't expected her to take her fortune so literally.
He'd opened and closed his mouth once then twice and on the third move he'd spoken just as he was about to clamp his jaw again.
"The other one," he spoke softly as he slid his fingers back across her still closed fist, meeting her eyes as she chewed on the purple confection, continuing only once he'd watched the rise and fall of her throat as she'd swallowed, "is something I should have made clearer."
She'd opened her mouth to ask what he meant but he'd forged ahead, either not noticing she had a question or deciding he'd answer it with more words. She'd know it would be more likely the later so she hadn't fought it.
"It's not so much a request for right now, more a… hint of something to come." His voice had been so quiet she'd stepped closer, pressing their mesh of hands back into his stomach to hear him.
He'd wanted her to be his. She'd slide her thumb over the yellow confection, tracing over the words she couldn't see. 'Be Mine' was the message she'd slid under the skin of her thumb. She had been overwhelmed for the briefest of seconds, overcome with a panic too intense to name, but then it had slipped away as he brushed his thumb over her knuckles.
"I'm not saying-"
She'd cut him off. She'd known what he was saying. What it meant.
And what she'd had to say. What she'd have to do.
She snaps back out of her memory, finds him watching her curiously. She has to wonder how long he's been watching her. She knows it must be a while from the ache in her eyes from staring at his hand, poised on the edge of her desk.
"Finished?" he asks softly.
She blinks, forces herself to meet his eyes as she nods. She isn't finished, but she needs to go home. "I'll drop you home." It's not an offer, or a request even, more of an order. Except she's too tired to be giving orders. Her mind has been buzzing all day because of this case, the stacks of paper she's had to shift through, the small candy hearts which had stolen her focus for much longer than was appropriate in the workplace and in front of their giver nonetheless.
He slips his hand across her back, guiding her toward the elevator.
He reaches around her for the button as she's about to lift her arm. She nudges him lightly with her hip, another attempt to follow the fortune, heed his advice. "I can do it myself you know," she offers quietly, raising a brow in challenge.
His hand returns to her back, almost spanning her hip. "You get to push the button when we get inside. Make sure you press the G," he teases.
She narrows her eyes glaring at him as she angles herself to respond. Then decides against it.
"It's only fair," he offers quietly, his eyes roaming her face, continually returning to her eyes, watching, studying, as observant as always.
"Equals," she mutters, letting her shoulder wedge beneath his arm. Another opportunity.
"Partners," he amends, slipping his hand a little further across her back, resting on the top of her hip again. Apparently he's not letting them pass either.
She nods and then the elevator has dinged, opening its doors to them. She stays still for a second, wanting to be against him half a moment longer before heading downstairs and then having to sit on opposite sides of the car, her concentration forced solely on the road before her.
Then the decision isn't her own anymore, he's taken control, stepped forward, pressing against her hip, guiding her along with him, prompting her to follow.
She flicks her eyes up to him, decides the thought she voiced earlier in the break room isn't as scary as it had been to say. Telling Richard Castle that she would let him continue this, continue showing her she could be his, that she could take chances and let him show her how crazy he was, had been as easy as murmuring that she knew, she understood and slipping the candy into her mouth. He'd meshed their fingers together and stopped breathing, until she swallowed it. And she hadn't said anything until she'd swallowed.
"You know I had another one?" he says quietly.
"I'd assumed there were more than six in the box." She chooses to stare at their reflections, warped in the steel of the doors as they descend.
"But it was too cliché to use today." Wasn't this all a giant cliché? But she let him have it, stayed silent and waited for further information. "Plus when you kiss me," she stiffens and his hand twitches on her hip, his fingers moving to soothe, a promise, an assurance, "I don't want it to be in this precinct." This sounds terrifying, like gifts that are going to increase in size, take her out of her comfort zone.
She steels herself, glances up at him. She finds him watching their reflection in the doors too. She sees them open out of the corner of her eye, the reflection disappearing.
"Me either," she offers quietly as she removes herself from his side, letting his fingers linger on her coat as she heads out onto the street to the car, letting herself get lost in thought as he moves beside her, no longer touching. He gives her a soft smile as she slips into the car, clicking her belt in and the only other thing he says to her is "Until tomorrow," as he slides out of the car.
Until tomorrow indeed.