(FIC) Thesaurus - 10/15
Title: Thesaurus
Chapter: 10 of 15: "Scall"
Characters/pairings: Ryan/Esposito, Castle, Beckett
Length: 435 words this chapter; 14,055 words total
Rating: PG-13 for alcohol consumption and mild language
Fic Summary: Every word has both a denotation and a connotation, but neither convey the word's real meaning. To discover that, you have to live life to the fullest.
( Previous, Chapter 9 - "Destro" )
“…scall...”
scall (skăl) n. a petty thief, such as a pickpocket or shoplifter
“Hey, Espo, seen my pen?”
Esposito stifled a yawn as he leaned back in his chair, his head hanging over Ryan’s shoulder. The rush of Ryan’s cologne had him closing his eyes involuntarily before he snapped himself out of his reverie and focused on the question.
“What pen?” he asked softly, his mouth close to his partner’s ear due to their cramped working conditions.
“My fountain pen. It’s black, super-shiny, gold-leafed…”
Esposito shook his head. “Haven’t seen it, bro.”
Ryan sighed with a small smile. “That’s okay, I guess,” he said. “It’s got my name on it in gold; if someone else has it it’ll be easy to spot.”
“Can’t have walked off,” Esposito added, reaching around to pat Ryan’s shoulder bracingly. “It’ll turn up somewhere.”
“Ready to go?”
Ryan nodded, grabbing his suit jacket off the back of his chair and looking around his desk with a frown. Esposito sighed and leaned against his desk, waiting for his partner.
“Something wrong?” he said softly.
“Wish I had that pen,” Ryan muttered, looking around. “I really liked it.”
Esposito shrugged, waiting for his partner to catch up with him.
They went out for drinks, and to the outside observer it seemed that they were enjoying the time they spent together as they always did. For Esposito, however, it was an eye-opening experience. He found himself watching Kevin more than he ever did, noting aspects that he had never seen before: the straight line of his nose, the whitish-pink of his smooth lips, the easy feathering of his hair. He noted the familiar pink blush across Kevin’s cheeks as the effects of the alcohol set in, but at the end of the evening, when Esposito placed Ryan’s coat on his shoulders for him, fingertips brushing Ryan’s neck as he did so, he thought he saw the blush grow pinker still.
He chalked it up to his imagination.
His apartment was dark that night when he got home. He left it that way, only turning on the television to supply a flickering light to illuminate his path. From his inner breast pocket, he removed something slender and jet-black and made his way over to the hall closet.
Esposito added the objectlike a crown jewel to the top of a pile of papers, jackets, books, and undershirts, all of which smelled like Ryan, their previous owner. As it settled into a case that was waiting for it, “Kevin Ryan, NYPD” gleamed in gold from its glossy black side before the door was closed gently, lovingly.
( Next, Chapter 11 - "Skexy" )
Chapter: 10 of 15: "Scall"
Characters/pairings: Ryan/Esposito, Castle, Beckett
Length: 435 words this chapter; 14,055 words total
Rating: PG-13 for alcohol consumption and mild language
Fic Summary: Every word has both a denotation and a connotation, but neither convey the word's real meaning. To discover that, you have to live life to the fullest.
( Previous, Chapter 9 - "Destro" )
“…scall...”
scall (skăl) n. a petty thief, such as a pickpocket or shoplifter
“Hey, Espo, seen my pen?”
Esposito stifled a yawn as he leaned back in his chair, his head hanging over Ryan’s shoulder. The rush of Ryan’s cologne had him closing his eyes involuntarily before he snapped himself out of his reverie and focused on the question.
“What pen?” he asked softly, his mouth close to his partner’s ear due to their cramped working conditions.
“My fountain pen. It’s black, super-shiny, gold-leafed…”
Esposito shook his head. “Haven’t seen it, bro.”
Ryan sighed with a small smile. “That’s okay, I guess,” he said. “It’s got my name on it in gold; if someone else has it it’ll be easy to spot.”
“Can’t have walked off,” Esposito added, reaching around to pat Ryan’s shoulder bracingly. “It’ll turn up somewhere.”
“Ready to go?”
Ryan nodded, grabbing his suit jacket off the back of his chair and looking around his desk with a frown. Esposito sighed and leaned against his desk, waiting for his partner.
“Something wrong?” he said softly.
“Wish I had that pen,” Ryan muttered, looking around. “I really liked it.”
Esposito shrugged, waiting for his partner to catch up with him.
They went out for drinks, and to the outside observer it seemed that they were enjoying the time they spent together as they always did. For Esposito, however, it was an eye-opening experience. He found himself watching Kevin more than he ever did, noting aspects that he had never seen before: the straight line of his nose, the whitish-pink of his smooth lips, the easy feathering of his hair. He noted the familiar pink blush across Kevin’s cheeks as the effects of the alcohol set in, but at the end of the evening, when Esposito placed Ryan’s coat on his shoulders for him, fingertips brushing Ryan’s neck as he did so, he thought he saw the blush grow pinker still.
He chalked it up to his imagination.
His apartment was dark that night when he got home. He left it that way, only turning on the television to supply a flickering light to illuminate his path. From his inner breast pocket, he removed something slender and jet-black and made his way over to the hall closet.
Esposito added the objectlike a crown jewel to the top of a pile of papers, jackets, books, and undershirts, all of which smelled like Ryan, their previous owner. As it settled into a case that was waiting for it, “Kevin Ryan, NYPD” gleamed in gold from its glossy black side before the door was closed gently, lovingly.
( Next, Chapter 11 - "Skexy" )