Valentine's Day Bonus Hug

AN: Episode tag-on for 3x15, 'The Final Nail'.

Castle: "It's Valentine's Day. Shouldn't you be in a romantic restaurant, wearing a new dress and ordering Surf'n'Turf?"

Beckett: "I've got a couple of hours. You okay?"

Castle: "Yeah I'm fine."

Beckett: "Liar."

Platonic

A couple of hours with Beckett have always felt like a couple of minutes to him. Time flies when you're having fun, so they say, but it's more than that. It's the way she speaks, the subtle melody of her enunciations that lure him into the net she weaves, and the bright intelligence of her opinions, thoughts and ideas that keep him there. Happily trapped; utterly smitten. It's the animation on her face when they spar with words and wit; the way she leans closer when she listens to him, head tilted just so, looking up from under the frame of her thick eyelashes, her eyes wide and sparkling.

He wants to stay like this all night and then forever, maybe, but the moment he's been dreading arrives just the same, unstoppable, unavoidable. She pulls up her sleeve, glances down at the face of her watch.

"I should go," she says, and he thinks he hears traces of the same regret in her voice that's trickling ice-cold through his blood. Something like panic tears through him but he ruthlessly squashes it down; he has no right. It's always there at the back of his mind yet for a couple of hours tonight he almost forgot that she isn't his.

He holds open her coat for her and she slides her arms inside, tucks her hair out from under her collar until it cascades in dark, wild waves down her back and the wave of her scent, that familiar swirl of cherry almost buckles his knees. Almost.

He walks her outside, his palm not-so-subtly resting against her lower back where he can feel the alluring warmth of her body radiating through the thick wool fabric, leaves it there even while they stand side by side at the curb. She gives him a sideways glance but she doesn't call him out on it; instead she smiles that tender, heartbreaking smile that he's seeing more and more lately. The one that makes him ache inside but gives him hope just the same, just dreamy enough to hold a promise of more.

A taxi pulls up and she steps forward, the sudden distance making him feel chilled to the bone when it's not even very cold tonight. But then she turns for him, her eyes flicking up, wide and dark. The wind gathers up her hair, swirls strands across her cheeks as she looks at him, and he remembers that moment so long ago when she teased him with his phrasing of choice, wants to grin and point it out but he can't speak, can't move, his heart picking up speed as he holds her gaze.

And then she steps into him - just one long, sudden stride before her body brushes against his. She wraps her arms around his torso, her hands pressed to his ribs as she tightens her hold, enfolds him into a snug hug. Her face sinks to his shoulder and he's not one to miss this chances so he bands his arms around her, tugging her closer to him, his palms broad against her slim back, her body so lithe and soft against him. He inhales her scent, his nose buried in her hair, soaks up the quiet strength of her embrace, the comfort that speaks of things they don't admit.

It feels so much longer than it probably is - this quiet, ethereal moment in the middle of New York City on a cool evening with an impatient taxi driver waiting in the background while they stand entwined on a sidewalk.

"You okay?" She asks as she pulls away, her thumb brushing at the side of his chin for just a moment while she watches him knowingly. He nods, his skin tingling where she touched. He swallows the lump in his throat as he finds a smile, and it's subdued but it's honest because it's for her.

And then she glides into the cab, is rushed away into the night while he looks after her, the yellow car shrinking from his vision, melting into the hodgepodge of colors in the distance.

No, he's still not okay. But he may just be a little bit better.

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies! I appreciate each and every one of you, and I am truly thankful for your support and enthusiasm.