Snapshots from the 'Per Adversa' 'verse

I don't own Castle - ABC Studios and Andrew Marlowe do. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while to play.

I am not making any money from this; it's just to freeshare with my ff friends.

[AN If a snapshot needs an M rating it will be published under the title Mature Snapshots from the 'Per Adversa' 'Verse]

This snapshot was requested by the talented Firestar385, my wonderful beta reader and author of the amazing 'Castle' story "Spellbound". Thanks for the suggestion and hope you enjoy it

"…my only comfort now is the long-standing tradition of torturing the boyfriend."

Richard Castle: A Death in the Family

The Dinner

September 2016

...

As they stood at the door to Castle's loft waiting for the door to be answered, Alexis couldn't help laughing at the haunted expression on her new lover's face.

"Kevin, breathe! I'll protect you from Dad, although I'm not sure if you are really going to need any protection. I told you he cares about you too. He wouldn't have encouraged you to call me otherwise."

"I know that, but he's so very protective of you; you didn't see what he was like when you were missing. I wasn't exaggerating when I called you his most precious possession, and I really think he would have expected you to be home last night. Come on, Lex. The speed of this has taken us by surprise, and we're the ones in it."

She nodded slowly. "I may be precious to him, but I'm not anyone's possession! I am an adult who makes her own choices and he needs to start understanding that."

"I think he does understand that, it's just that you'll always be his little girl, however old you get. I think…" Whatever else he did think was cut off as the door swung open, revealing Castle to their view. He didn't look angry, but nor did he look very welcoming either.

"Ah! Come home at last, have you?"

Alexis scowled at him, "Dad, don't start!" she said in a warning tone.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Start what? I'm just saying you're home. That's all."

She pursed her lips. "Hmm, well we can always go away again, if we're not BOTH welcome."

"Of course, you're welcome!" His voice was light and surprised. "Come in, both of you." He ushered them both in, but as Kevin followed Alexis and passed him, he added in a soft voice, "I haven't got any guns, but I do have a nice knife collection!" Kevin's head shot round to look at him, and he swallowed hard as he saw the amused but also predatory expression on Castle's face.

"Not fair to use insider knowledge," he said, bringing forth an even bigger smirk.

"It's alright. You're quite safe. I promised Kate. Remember that Miss By-the-Book already told me that locking Alexis up was unlawful imprisonment, well apparently beating on her boyfriends is also unlawful - it's classified as assault, and as you're a cop, it would be assaulting an officer, which is an even more serious crime." And his smirk grew even wider as he also raised his eyebrows at Kevin.

Shaking his head, Kevin followed Alexis into the loft, to be greeted with a smile and a hug from Kate. The lady herself narrowed her eyes at Castle when she saw the flush on Kevin's face and his slightly worried expression, but the author just shrugged and then offered drinks to them all in a happy and welcoming voice as if the short conversation at the door had never taken place.

…

As Castle served their drinks, Martha swept down the stairs and Kevin gathered he definitely had her approval in pursuing a relationship as she swept him into her arms and told him how happy she was to see him. Martha had always been exuberant and welcoming when she had seen both Esposito and himself, but now he felt an even deeper level of acceptance.

With drinks in hand they settled down on the couches to chat until Martha's friend arrived. Kevin frequently felt Castle's eyes on him as they talked, but they were not disapproving, they seemed to be the opposite in fact, and he started to think that the words on arrival had been simply a joke to keep him on his toes.

His own eyes were fixed on Alexis as she chatted away and laughed and told them about the Swing club he had taken her to. She expressed her delight and enjoyment in the fact that Kevin danced, and that she would now have a partner with whom she could indulge in one of her favorite pastimes. As she mentioned this, she turned slightly and gave him a quick wink, and Kevin nearly choked on his drink as he realized the double meaning behind her words.

He just could not get enough of watching her. In a few short days his whole life had been turned on its head once more and his conviction that the rest of his life would be spent alone had been totally swept away by an amazing and captivating woman. He joined in the conversation when asked a question, but he was totally content just to watch and delight in Alexis' company.

He knew he was going to experience a great deal of ribbing from his partner, when Esposito saw how besotted he was with Alexis. But Kevin knew that his partner would also be happy for him and relieved that he was no longer alone. Javi had worried so much about him. He smiled to himself as he anticipated his partner's satisfaction when he shared that his housewarming gift had finally been put to use!

…

When they were joined by Martha's friend, Joel, the chilled mood of the evening changed to one of laughter-filled hysteria. From the moment he made his sweeping entrance, he proved himself a perfect match for Martha as his enthusiasm and enjoyment of life captured them all. It was quite amazing to believe that he had spent the majority of his working life offstage as his theatrical presence dominated from the moment he entered.

From the conversation of the night, it was clear he had been involved as director and producer of many very successful productions, and maybe his theatrical abilities were exactly why they had been so successful, as his understanding of the acting art allowed him to elicit outstanding performances from all he worked with. Certainly Martha seemed to believe that her finest acting took place under his direction.

He completely dominated from the moment he arrived, and even Castle had trouble keeping up with him. It was hilarious to see the author who usually controlled the conversation with his fantastical theories and spontaneous quips trailing behind. Castle, for his part, took it in his stride and seemed to enjoy Joel's stories every bit as much as the rest of them. If the night demonstrated anything it was that despite his apparent ego, Castle had humility in his soul and was perfectly happy to hand the limelight over to others.

As for Joel's stories, they were fascinating, interesting and hilarious. They featured many a household name, who had moved onto other media after honing their craft on stage, and many of the earlier ones also featured Martha. It was clear from the way he spoke about her that they had had a close and affectionate relationship, and they both seemed delighted to have renewed it.

There was an especially hilarious story featuring Martha, where the special effects staging kept going wrong during a production of 'Singing in the Rain' and she had to keep hurriedly changing her costume because she was drenched in four separate scenes.

"I swear it was like the staging was alive and deliberately picking on her, because it always happened when she was on stage alone, and no-one else got wet!"

Martha was laughing as well at her own misfortune. "I did feel rather picked on, but the audience thought it was hilarious and I got the biggest standing ovation at the end, so it was all worth it!" she added.

…

As the evening progressed Kevin still felt Castle's eyes on him, but they definitely contained approval now, and that approval appeared to be growing every time he glanced up and back at him. When they finally had their conversation at the windows, Kevin felt he had definitely received the seal of approval from the man. Castle had appeared to take it for granted that Alexis would leave with him, and Alexis' own delighted reaction to that assumption made Kevin feel on top of the world.

Despite the encouragement he had received from Castle to contact Alexis in the first place, he had arrived at the loft full of trepidation. This evening, however, had completely changed his perspective, and he left with his new lady on his arm feeling completely confident in the relationship and the acceptance of it by the people who mattered in his life. Despite how quickly things had happened he was already totally committed to Alexis and wouldn't have been scared away by opposition, but still it was nice to know that he had the blessing of his family and friends as he started forwards into yet another completely different phase in his life.

...

AN: A HUGE thank you to Firestar385 for beta reading, Americanizing and generally correcting this work. Any remaining mistakes are mine!

Please let me know what you think. All constructive criticism is welcomed - I haven't written in quite a while and the only way to improve is to take on board other people's comments. I hope you will enjoy the reading journey as much as I am enjoying the writing one.