A/N: So, I apologize for the long wait in between chapters, but like always, real life got in the way. :( Also, I've had this almost completely written for about two weeks now but it wasn't supposed to be the second chapter. Since I'm struggling with that I decided to upload this one instead. A huge thank you as always goes out to kimmiesjoy! Awesome beta is awesome! Hug you! :D

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own them!

"Balls!"

Her head shot up from the files she'd been poring over for the last two hours.

"What?"

"Balls!"

"Castle!" She hissed. "What are you talking about? And keep your voice down!" She glanced at Gates' office, hoping his somewhat loud exclamation had escaped the captain's notice, before glaring back at him, giving him a look like he'd finally lost it.

"I was just thinking about –

"Balls?"

"Uh, yeah, well…

"God Castle!" Her tone was taking on a slightly exasperated edge. Not that he was deterred in the slightest, he kept right on talking. Of course.

To be honest she was already a little distracted and therefore kind of annoyed at his sudden outburst about balls of all things.

They had caught a murder last night at the most inopportune moment possible, interrupting them right in the middle of a very hot and steamy…ugh, yeah not thinking about that right now.

To their initial delight it seemed to be a pretty open and shut case. The victim was killed in a gym and they found their suspect fairly quickly. By lunchtime they had figured out the who, the why and the when of the murder, only the how was still eluding them. And this was the exact reason why she had been studying the floor plans of said gym for the last two hours.

Of course it didn't help in the slightest that - while reading words like workout area, locker rooms and showers - images of a sweaty and half naked Castle working out in a gym kept popping up in her head. Combined with her less than satisfied state from last night, the only thoughts shooting through her head were how the both of them could…work out – together – on one of the gym mats.

Ugh. Frustrating.

So yeah, she was annoyed. And slightly aroused. There was that, too.

"Oh, hmm they are very sensitive, so maybe –

Was he actually serious?

Now?

Here?

Really?

"I know, I know they tend to be on the pretty large side, smaller ones would work too, I guess, but I'm not sure they would hit…"

Her head swiveled around again, her eyes going wide and probably resembling huge saucers as she stared at him incredulously – if his rather fast backtracking was anything to go by.

"Oh…uh, yeah…well maybe not that big, you're right. It could get quite…hairy, I know…but this actually has its merits, you know?" He kept rambling on and –

WHAT? Did he just…

Her face got hot, she felt the flush creeping up her neck and –

What the hell?!

Her mouth gaped open, she could only stare, and was this strangled noise really coming from her? His surprised glance at her seemed to confirm this theory and he couldn't be serious, right? But all she could hear ringing in her ears was hairy and balls and big and hitting…um…and now she was actually picturing...uh, no.

Just no! He couldn't mean what she thought he –

"Oh, you really don't like that, do you? Well, I know, maybe you're right…that's not very smooth. And you prefer them smooth, right, I got it. Nice and easy, not some weird and wild –"

And now she was actually choking, apparently he meant exactly what she'd thought he meant. Drowning out the words still coming from him she tried to make sense of everything, tried to regain some scrap of coherent thought but –

Her wide eyes, flushed face and open mouth must have finally alerted him enough to actually stop his consistent chatter and fall silent, and really, what the hell was he actually thinking?

Was he completely insane?

Talking about balls and hairy and smooth and all sorts of other inappropriate things right in the middle of the bullpen, like other people are talking about the weather?

She'd finally had enough!

There was good natured teasing and then there was just complete idiocy and he had finally crossed the line and turned to the latter!

"God Castle… what the hell is wrong with you? Are you out of your mind? You can't just…ugh! We're trying to solve a case here! And you keep going on about…and really…when is your mind actually not taking up residence in the gutter, huh?! I'd really like to see the day!"

"What?" he splutters, looking confused and just a tad offended. "I uh…"

"No! Just no! Zip it!" She's going off on him now, enough is enough!

Clenching her teeth she snapped, "What makes you think you can go on about your...," looking around swiftly and lowering her voice to a barely-there-level she gritted out, "…balls in the middle of the precinct? I mean, why? How did your mind even come up with…uh you know what, never mind. I don't even want to know. And I don't care if they are…," she lowered her voice even more, hissing through her teeth and stabbing him with her index finger in the chest while he kept gaping at her in total surprise "big or hairy or smooth or...whatever! Now is certainly not the time nor the –

She felt a low rumble surge through his chest and his body started to shake, and to her complete and utter confusion and annoyance she realized he was shaking with laughter, so hard he got tears in his eyes, almost wheezing with it.

"You think this is funny?"

Her eyes turned to slits and she shot him one deadly look – the look – and to her satisfaction she felt him shrink back a bit, but then he started chuckling again, this very dangerous and mischievous twinkle in his eyes and she knew, just knew that she was in for it.

Knew there was something she'd missed and sure enough he informed her with great satisfaction and a grin that went from smug to diabolical to self righteousness in seconds (and doesn't that piss her off even more) -

"For your information, De-tec-tive, I was talking about actual balls. Like in footballs, baseballs, volleyballs, tennis balls, soft balls! And my rather brilliant theory how they could have played a vital role for our suspect in reaching that switch in the ceiling of the gym our vic died in."

"Uh –"

She stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth falling open and closed, gasping desperately for air like a fish on dry land.

Leaning in close to her, breathing hotly into her ear while his voice took on a low and husky quality he whispered, "But it's nice to see where your mind went right away at the prospect of…balls, Beckett."

He leaned back, grinning at her wide and smug, his eyebrows wiggling and his gaze raking over her body suggestively.

Uh –

Blank.

She drew a complete and utter blank.

She had nothing.

Flushing a deep shade of red, she gaped dumbfounded at him, completely horrified and playing back their –admittedly pretty one-sided - conversation in her mind.

Oh God.

Too late she realized her mistake of jumping to conclusions; she had to admit to herself she was guilty of the same crime she just accused him of.

Jumping into the gutter.

Head first.

Bastard.

This was all his fault. If he didn't constantly mess with her mind there was no way she would have…

Oh God.

He would never let her live this one down. Not a chance. This was Richard Castle they were talking about here. No way in hell would he ever let this go. Better to go out with her head held high then.

"Castle, this theory is…

"Great?"

"No."

"Brilliant?"

"Uh-uh."

"Genius?"

"No."

"What?"

She leaned in close to him, letting her fingertips graze his stomach lightly, her gaze dropping to his lips and back up. Peering at him under half-lidded eyes she waited until his gaze dropped to her lips before she closed the distance, almost brushing her mouth to his.

Humming in the back of her throat she dropped her voice to a husky whisper, biting her lip and rolling the word around in her mouth, testing it out before letting it loose with a velvety-soft but suggestive quality to it, practically dripping with sex.

"Baallsss."

Drawing out the S at the end in a low hiss and letting her gaze dip down suggestively she watched him swallow audibly, his adam's apple bobbing up and down. His eyes went wide and then darkened to a stormy midnight blue that always made her whole body shiver in anticipation, while he kept clenching his fists at his sides, knuckles turning white with the force to keep himself from leaning in.

And then she drew back with a sudden jolt, her voice taking on its usual loud, clipped and slightly sarcastic tone.

"It's complete balls, Castle."

With that she turned around, leaving him gaping after her while striding off with the usual confident swing of her hips. His smug grin gone. That'll teach him!

A/N: Hmm, I realize this is quite silly, lol. Also, how a suspect would try to reach a switch in a ceiling by throwing balls is not really realistic nor can I give you a single good reason why he would do such a thing - I KNOW! But for the sake of this chapter let's just pretend it's quite probable and reasonable, ok? :D After all - this theory was supposed to be...balls! :P