Not Cherries

Kate steps into the shower letting the steamy hot water relax her sore muscles and wash away her long long day. With eyes closed she just lets her body go into full relax mode before going to grab her usual cherry scented body wash and shampoo. She comes up with an empty bottle. She frowns. This wont be good. She always washes up with her favorite scent...ever since Castle seemed to like it all those years ago she's never gone without the delicious smell. It has somehow become part of her daily routine, along with putting on her mother's ring and her father's watch. And now, this might just throw her whole day off tomorrow.

With a sad sigh, Kate reaches for her soap...Damn she's out of that too.

Kate thinks for a moment, not remembering the last time she went shopping. She's been so caught up with cases and going to therapy she's lost track of what day it is. She balls her hands into fists for a second, and then braces herself for the cold as she gets out of the hot shower and retrieves her back up body wash under the bathroom sink. She gets back in with a low moan when the hot water assaults her skin again, and frowns down at the bottle of vanilla scented body wash she got for her birthday a few years ago. She never liked the scent so she put it under the sink for rare emergencies. And unfortunately, this is one of those times. With a face of disgust Kate washes up with the distasteful vanilla body wash, and exits the shower. She gets ready for bed with her nose turned up at herself and slips under the covers. It takes her a while to fall asleep.

The next day Kate stands in front of the espresso machine about ready to get herself her first cup of the day. Already she's thrown off with this stupid vanilla. Castle is delayed with a meeting so this small espresso will have to do. But the machine won't work for her for some reason so she ends up burning herself and getting a puff of steam in her face.

"Yo Beckett." She jumps spilling what coffee she did manage to get out, onto the grate.

"Ahhh! What?" She asks, turning her head menacingly towards Esposito.

Esposito takes in her flustered appearance and is glad he has good news for her. "Uh...We can head out early today if no bodies drop." He says warily.

"Great." She says through her teeth and goes to refill her coffee.

Esposito leaves with a shake of his head and goes to his desk to do paperwork, throwing a thumb over his shoulder and mouthing a warning to Ryan, who looks concerned and wary, he nods his head and puts his head down to work.

At the sound of the delicious hot liquid pouring into her cup, Kate smiles for the first time that morning and hums happily now that the machine is working for her. With a hot cup of coffee in hand, she sits down at her desk, flopping down and picking up a pen to follow her fellow detective's example. A whoosh of air stirs up the unwanted vanilla scent off her skin and assaults her nose. She rolls her eyes with a groan. Wishing she didn't have to use this retched smell because it's making her feel sick.

"What's with the look?" Castle asks walking up an hour and a half later.

Kate looks up from her paperwork, shoulders sore from hunching over her desk and sees he comes with a gift. She hasn't realized she's been scowling at herself this whole time. "Nothing, just stupid paperwork." She says taking the offered gift, a large coffee.

Castle shrugs his shoulders and takes his seat next to her desk. He gives her a smile, which she returns over her cup and settles in to watch her. After a few minutes he remembers his own coffee and brings it up to his lips. Kate sighs quietly, bringing a hand through her hair a little aggravated because her pen is out of ink. She gets one out of the cup on her desk and continues to play with her hair as she fills out the tedious paperwork on her desk.

Castle frowns when an unfamiliar smell floats by his nose from Kate's general direction. He stops mid sip, lowers his cup and scrunches up his nose. He moves his head around in the air around him, sniffing, and then leans a little towards Kate who doesn't seem to notice. He makes a loud sniffing noise and she looks over at him briefly.

That didn't take long.

The writer keeps investigating, nose in the air like a bloodhound on the hunt. He's halfway across her desk before she has to stop him. "Castle." She warns not looking at him.

"Do you smell that?"

"No." She lies. And then, "What does it smell like?" She regards him from the corner of her eye.

"Like..." He sniffs again, really close to her face now. "Not. Cherries." He says in a low disturbed tone. He backs up and falls back into his chair with a deep crease in his forehead. "What is that?" He asks put off.

Kate sighs, dropping her pen and leaning her head into her hand. "Vanilla."

"Vanilla?" He scoffs. "That's boring, and so not you...it's so..." He thinks for a moment.

"Vanilla?" She asks with an amused raise of her eyebrow.

He nods in full agreement. "Pun fully intended."

She laughs a little and takes her head out of her hand swirling her chair to face him. "I ran out of my favorite body wash last night." She admits and then regrets it from the look on Castle's face. He's probably thinking about her in the shower...all soapy. And then she blushes because she finds she doesn't mind at all.

He starts to shake his head and gets up from his chair. "That simply will not do." He says and leaves without another word.

Kate looks on puzzled as he gets into the elevator on a mission and shakes her head. Thirty minutes later Kate checks her watch. It's lunch time and Castle hasn't returned. She shrugs eying the elevator and decides to have lunch with Lanie.

"What's that smell?" Her friend asks when she sweeps into the morgue a few minutes later.

Kate hops up onto an empty exam table and tosses her arms in the air. "It's me all right!" She says exasperated.

"Whoa there!" Lanie says in surrender, swiveling around in her chair. She was also doing her own bit of paperwork before Kate walked in. "I didn't say it was a bad smell."

"Yea well Castle noticed too." Kate says crossing her arms.

"Of course he did, that boy would have his nose in your hair all damn day if you let him." Lanie smirks getting up and pulling lunch out of a nearby fridge. She hands Kate a container of chicken salad.

Kate takes it with a tilt of her head and a look that says 'Really?'

"You know he would. Writer boy is very aware of everything you do, wouldn't surprise me he knows what you smell like. He's made it his business," She looks Kate up and down with a raised eyebrow. "To be up in your business."

"Yea well I scared him off with this new scent I had to use last night, I ran out of my favorite body wash." Kate forks some salad into her mouth.

"I hate when that happens." Lanie agrees.

The two woman eat and chat for a while before Lanie gets in a fresh body, no case for Kate, and the two part. Back upstairs Kate steps out of the elevator and is about to go grab some coffee when she sees a big bag on her desk. She tilts her head to one side in curiosity and by passes the break room. When she reaches the bag, she looks around, not seeing Castle anywhere. And then sits in her chair dragging the bag closer. It's from Bath and body, and it's heavy. Kate looks around the bullpen again and then brings the bag into her lap looking in side. It's filled to the top with Cherry scented bath soaps, sprays and body washes. A grin creeps up onto her face. She reaches into the bag and pulls out a spray. Again she looks around. She removes the cap and brings it up to her nose, breathing in the familiar scent. She closes her eyes and hums.

"Home sweet home." Castle says with boyish smirk.

Kate jumps and sprays the bottle into the air between them by accident. "There is like a year supply in here!" She exclaims putting the bottle down on her desk and fishing inside for more products.

"Anything for my favorite detective." He says with a shrug. He takes a seat and smiles cutely at her.

"You didn't have to do that Castle." She says in a low tone, and a shy smile.

He surprises her by taking her hand in his, and then turning her hand over exposing her wrist. He rubs a thumb gently over her pulse point and she can't help but let out a small gasp. He smirks at her through his eyelashes, and then reaches for the bottle of spray. He smooths her wrist with his thumb again, and she bites her lip as he sprays a little onto her skin. Before she knows what she is doing she's giving him her other wrist, which he mimics his previous actions. After he's sprayed her other wrist, he pulls her towards him a little. Her chair rolling forward. And then, she bites down harder on her lip to suppress a sigh, because he brings both wrists up to his nose. He takes her in with a deep breath, and then kisses both wrists.

"Mm." He says in a husky tone. "You smell like cherries."

I ran out of my favorite body wash, and I had to use vanilla. For one, it's a completely different smell, so it throws me off. And two, it does sort of make me feel sick because it's a strong smell. Anyway. I thought back to that episode where Castle said, (in his sexy voice) "you smell like cherries." Followed by both flicking their eyes to each others lips. And I thought, what would happen if Kate didn't smell like cherries? Well there you have it. Hope you liked it! Reviews are my favorite as always!