(FIC) Alibi - 1/?
Title: “Alibi”
Fandom: Castle
Characters/Pairings: Ryan/Esposito, the whole gang
Rating: NC-17 for sexy, sexy, sexy men, doing some sexy, sexy, sexy things =] And alcohol, and language.
Occasion: Written in celebration of the day on which the lovely Jen (starscythe ) was born. Happy birthday, honey =] Uhm >> I’m working on the rest of it. I really am. Thanks totheaquamarine for her patience and for being my lovely my beta/sounding board.
Spoiler alert: None
Disclaimer: Oh, how sad I am that the boys don’t belong to me.
It was absolutely ridiculous, Esposito reflected, that Ryan had never been to a gay bar.
Granted, Ryan had only discovered his “latent homosexuality” a few months previous. Granted, Esposito was the first man with whom Ryan had ever been romantically involved, so the whole arrangement was somewhat new to him. Still, Esposito decided it was up to him to educate his poor, deprived partner. Really, it was for Ryan’s own good.
It was in this sentiment that six o-clock Saturday evening found them both at a gay bar in Chelsea, Esposito leading a timid-looking Ryan by the elbow. They sat and drank, chatting easily with one another and with the other men that pulled up beside them, talking and laughing while the hours slipped quickly by. By ten-thirty, the flush on Ryan’s cheeks and his increasingly-frequent yawning announced that it was time to go home.
“You know what they say, time flies when you’re having fun,” Ryan quoted as Esposito led him out onto the lamp lit street.
“You had fun?”
“Hell yes! We shoulda come here sooner.” Esposito couldn’t help smiling at him.
They caught a cab together, both crashing at Ryan’s apartment. It was a mutual decision to actually use Ryan’s bed for sleep this time; they’d spent enough intimate nights together recently that the sex could wait for another evening. They stripped down to their underwear and slipped under Ryan’s covers, draping weighted limbs across each other’s body, lying forehead-to-forehead.
Esposito could smell the beer on Ryan’s breath and stretched forward to press a chaste kiss to his partner’s lips. He had almost fallen asleep when a low mumble that might have been his name caught his attention.
“Hmm?” he mumbled back. He could feel Ryan’s chest expanding and relaxing again as a warm sigh rushed across his cheek.
“I love you,” Ryan murmured.
Esposito couldn’t help it; his lips pulled into an unseen smile. “I love you too.”
“But I’m not ready for people to know about it.”
Esposito forced his eyes open and found Ryan, far more alert now than before, staring at him. He should have expected this; they hadn’t even been together two weeks yet, and they had all sorts of reasons for keeping their relationship a secret. Still, he couldn’t stop the irrational twinge of hurt that he felt at Ryan’s words and his slight frustration at the knowledge that he’d have to continue keeping the happiest part of his life under wraps, even though he could see Ryan’s point as well.
“I hadn’t planned to tell anyone,” Esposito reassured him softly.
“Are you sure?” Ryan said, chewing his lip anxiously. “Not even your mom? Not even Beckett?”
“Kevin,” Esposito murmured, holding him tighter. “You know we can trust Bec-“
“Please, Javi? Please? Just don’t. Not anyone. Not even her.” They lay in silence for a few moments. Esposito’s palm moved to rub wide circles on Ryan’s back as he contemplated. Even for Ryan, insecure as he was about being gay, this was a bit desperate.
“Is there something going on?” he asked slowly.
Ryan released a shuddering breath and pulled closer to him. “Everything’s happening so quickly,” he confessed. “I spend twenty-eight years of my life thinking I’m straight only to find out that I’m not, and because of that I now have to hide an enormous part of my life from my co-workers because, if I don’t, I risk being the target of, at best, public ridicule and, at worst, physical violence. I mean, if anyone found out, I’d have to fear for my health, even my life, just for being who I am. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Welcome to being a gay cop.”
“I hate dealing with all this shit.”
“I seem to manage,” Esposito replied, suddenly feeling somewhat defensive. Ryan’s eyebrows pulled together.
“But I don’t have your self-confide-,” The air whooshed from Ryan’s lungs as he cut himself off, looking away and clearing his throat. “Anyway… I just mean, it would be really hard for me, if anyone found out.”
“I know.”
“Promise me, Javi. Promise me you’ll keep us a secret.”
It was Esposito’s turn to bite his lip. “I hate having to hide you,” he confessed. “You’re not a ‘dirty little secret’, Kevin. I want to… I mean, why do you think I took you to that bar, hmm? We didn’t have to hide there. I wish there were more places in my life where I could just hold your hand when I felt like it.”
“But that’s not how it works.”
“Okay, maybe not broadcasting it to the whole world, but telling Beckett, what’s the harm?”
“I can’t,” breathed Ryan. “Please, just… not yet, Javi. Maybe someday, but not yet. I’m not ready for that. I couldn’t handle anyone knowing.”
He would have argued if not for the desperate pleading in Ryan’s eyes. Instead, he murmured “I promise,” and shifted to place a tender kiss on Ryan’s forehead.
“Thank you,” Ryan whispered, moving down to press his cheek against Esposito’s neck.
“For you, the world,” Esposito murmured back, feeling Ryan’s lips against his collar bone turn upward in a contented smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Beckett folded her hands gently, watching the tears stream down the cheeks of the spray-tanned, bleach-blonde woman before her. The woman rooted around in her Gucci purse, her inch-long hot pink talons clicking as she did, and pulled out a monogrammed handkerchief, dabbing at her face with it.
“Mrs. Henderson,” Beckett began again, clearing her throat softly. “Alice… I know this is difficult for you, but I have to ask: do you know of anyone who would want to harm your husband?”
The sobbing stopped immediately, though fresh tears continued to fall. Alice’s eyes widened and her lips parted just enough for her to whisper, “Oh no.”
“Alice?”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of him sooner! It was him, I know it!”
“Who?”
“My husband’s ex-wife’s brother. My husband’s first marriage was absolutely awful, so it was no wonder that he was trying to get out of it… anyway, he started dating me while he was still married to his first wife. What Charlie and I had…it was destiny, you know?” She smiled wistfully. “We were just meant to be. But when he filed for divorce, she just… she couldn’t handle it, I guess. Anyway, her brother got super-pissed-off over the whole thing, called our house a bunch of times, said some pretty scary stuff.”
“Threats?” Beckett was on the edge of her seat.
“Probably; I don’t know. Charlie took most of the calls. Her brother called at night a lot, and he and Charlie would always yell at each other.”
Angry, late-night phone calls to the victim, plus the motive of revenge? This guy kept looking guiltier and guiltier. “Do you remember his name?” she asked anxiously, leaning forward.
“Uhm…” Alice’s brow furrowed. “Xavier? No… Javier! Javier Esposito.”