Castle - I'll Be Surprisingly Good For You 5/5
Title: I’ll Be Surprisingly Good For You
Fandom: Castle
Pairing: Beckett/Castle
Setting/Spoilers: set after “Nanny McDead“, mild reference to "Always Buy Retail"
Rating: NC-17
Summary: A curious detective, a spontaneous date and maybe a little too much wine.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except for the naughty mind that brought up this fic. The title is a song from ‘Evita’.
A/N: Big big big thanks go out to oneloveonelight for beta'ing. It's the first fic I started for this fandom and if it hadn't been for her encouragement, it would not be here.
I’ll Be Surprisingly Good For You 5/5
Kate woke up in an empty bed.
The early morning sun poured into the bedroom through a crack in the curtains as she shielded her eyes against it. With an annoyed groan, she turned on her back, entangling herself even more in the sheets.
A glance to her side confirmed that Richard had already left the bed. Her hand on the cool pillow told her it had been a while ago.
A sinking feeling settled in uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. She should have expected this, she should have known.
Brushing her hair from her face, she rose into a sitting position and regretted it a moment later. Her entire body was sore. Of course, she exercised - her job required her to stay in shape. But she hadn’t had this kind of exercise in months.
With a groan, she rose from the bed with the sheet wrapped around her and padded around the room, collecting her clothes.
A look in the bathroom mirror confirmed that most of her make-up was gone and that her hair was standing up on her head in every possible direction. After getting dressed - keeping her blouse out of her pants for a change - she splashed water into her face and smoothed her hair down as much as she could.
The smell of coffee and toast filled her nose as she came down the stairs. Her stomach let itself be known as she padded into the kitchen.
Kate stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her.
Castle stood in the kitchen, scrambled eggs in one pan, bacon sizzling in the other. He wore jeans and a sweat shirt, looking even more casual than usual. When he noticed her, he looked up from his cooking and smiled.
“Good morning. You sleep well?”
She frowned at him, running a hand through her hair. “Yes, thank you,” she said, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable in his presence.
“I didn’t know what you liked to eat for breakfast, so…” He gestured at the pans with the spatula.
“It’s fine.” She shifted from one leg to the other. “Actually, I have to go.” Kate grabbed her coat from where she had dropped it on the couch last night. “I still need to do some paperwork on that case and…” she rambled on her way to the door.
Again, Castle was faster, his long strides carrying him quickly across the room. With his hand flat against the door, she had no chance to open the door without using physical force. She could feel him in her back, his breath against her neck.
“Do you regret this?” he asked in a low voice and quiet voice that send a shiver down her spine.
“Let me out.” The words came in hardly more than a whisper.
“Kate.” He put a hand on her shoulder and she all but flinched. “Look at me.” Gently, he nudged her to turn around. She had her gaze lowered but he forced her to look at him.
She took a deep breath, gathering her courage on the way. She faced thieves, murderers and worse without so much as blinking, and now she was scared to ask a simple question. Well, no. She wasn’t afraid of the question but of the answer.
“Last night…” she began but broke off. It took her a moment to start again. “Last night, was that just research?”
Castle’s eyebrows went up and he took half a step back as if he was appalled by the question. “Excuse me? I though I just heard you ask…”
“Richard,” she interrupted. The use of his first name brought back an all too vivid memory of last night and Kate shivered inwardly.
He crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a steely gaze. He didn’t even make an effort to hide his hurt. “What do you think?”
“Why can’t you just answer me?” Kate’s fear was slowly replaced by a mixture of impatience and anger.
“Because it’s a ridiculous question.” He stepped back from her.
“Is it?”
“What do you think last night was, Kate?” he asked again.
“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know.” She threw up her hand in defense. “I saw you at the release party; I know you have a way with women. What am I supposed to think?”
“Oh, I don’t know. How about thinking that last night was something special? Hmm? I don’t know what it means exactly, but I’d like to find out. And if anything I write in the future reminds you of last night, it’s merely to acknowledge the fact of how much I enjoyed it and how much I’d like to go out with you again.”
Silence fell between them and in that moment, Kate could only stare at him. That was one more thing she could add to her list of “Things I’d never expect Richard Castle to say or do”.
She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again due to words she couldn’t find. Instead she lowered her eyes as she felt the heat rise up in her cheeks.
“Detective Beckett? What are you doing here? Did my dad get into trouble again?”
They both flinched as Alexis came bounding down the stairs, as Kate was still at a loss for words. Castle jumped to her rescue.
“No, she just came by to hand me my official and, mind you, very shiny consultant’s ID. I’m now officially consulting the PD of NY. How rad is that?”
“Not as rad as the bacon burning to a crisp.” Alexis switched off the stove, dragging the frying pan off the plate, her face twisted in distaste. “So, I hope you didn’t plan on having breakfast with us.”
“No, I was just… I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah, you too.”
“Let me know show you to the elevator, Detective.” Castle held out the door for her and Kate was glad to escape his daughter’s presence. She liked the girl but feeling like being caught in the act wasn’t really adding to her comfort.
Out in the hall, she stopped, busying herself by digging through her coat pocket for her keys. She knew there were still things unsaid but she didn’t want to be the one to say them.
“So?” Castle started, leaning against the closed door, expertly blocking the view through the peephole.
“Um…” Kate couldn’t look at him. “I think I have to apologize to you for making an assumption.”
“No need to. You had every right to make it.” He paused. “Just want you to know that you might be wrong this time.”
Finally, she looked up at him. He just looked at her, open and honest. She believed him. And some part of her kicked her mental shin for not doing so earlier. He was right. He hadn’t lied to her in any way; he hadn’t done anything to fool her about his intentions. She had been with him last night because she had wanted it, she had needed it. She had let herself stumble into this situation without thinking about the consequences; she couldn’t blame him for that.
“So…” he asked again, eyebrows raised in expectation.
“If nobody dies until then,” she began, hesitating for a short moment. While the cop in her was debating the pros and cons, her instinct and maybe even her heart spoke for her. “I’m free on Thursday night.”
“That’s something then.” A boyish grin spread across his lips.
Kate couldn’t help but match it. “Yeah, well. I actually gotta go. Montgomery doesn’t need to why I’m late for work.”
“Oh, is this a secret affair already? Detective, I’m intrigued.”
She rolled her eyes at that, then turned and headed for the elevator. “Don’t knock it, Castle. You never know who might turn up dead.”
“You know what, Kate?” he called after when she had already stepped into the elevator, his lips quirked into a smile. “I’ll be surprisingly good for you.”
fin.
A/N
Thanks everybody who read this and left a comment. It means a lot to me.
I didn't expect this fic to get this lengthy. What was meant to be a little one-shot thing turned into a 20 pages/8.400 words piece. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you will enjoy any future fics as well.
Fandom: Castle
Pairing: Beckett/Castle
Setting/Spoilers: set after “Nanny McDead“, mild reference to "Always Buy Retail"
Rating: NC-17
Summary: A curious detective, a spontaneous date and maybe a little too much wine.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except for the naughty mind that brought up this fic. The title is a song from ‘Evita’.
A/N: Big big big thanks go out to oneloveonelight for beta'ing. It's the first fic I started for this fandom and if it hadn't been for her encouragement, it would not be here.
I’ll Be Surprisingly Good For You 5/5
Kate woke up in an empty bed.
The early morning sun poured into the bedroom through a crack in the curtains as she shielded her eyes against it. With an annoyed groan, she turned on her back, entangling herself even more in the sheets.
A glance to her side confirmed that Richard had already left the bed. Her hand on the cool pillow told her it had been a while ago.
A sinking feeling settled in uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. She should have expected this, she should have known.
Brushing her hair from her face, she rose into a sitting position and regretted it a moment later. Her entire body was sore. Of course, she exercised - her job required her to stay in shape. But she hadn’t had this kind of exercise in months.
With a groan, she rose from the bed with the sheet wrapped around her and padded around the room, collecting her clothes.
A look in the bathroom mirror confirmed that most of her make-up was gone and that her hair was standing up on her head in every possible direction. After getting dressed - keeping her blouse out of her pants for a change - she splashed water into her face and smoothed her hair down as much as she could.
The smell of coffee and toast filled her nose as she came down the stairs. Her stomach let itself be known as she padded into the kitchen.
Kate stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her.
Castle stood in the kitchen, scrambled eggs in one pan, bacon sizzling in the other. He wore jeans and a sweat shirt, looking even more casual than usual. When he noticed her, he looked up from his cooking and smiled.
“Good morning. You sleep well?”
She frowned at him, running a hand through her hair. “Yes, thank you,” she said, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable in his presence.
“I didn’t know what you liked to eat for breakfast, so…” He gestured at the pans with the spatula.
“It’s fine.” She shifted from one leg to the other. “Actually, I have to go.” Kate grabbed her coat from where she had dropped it on the couch last night. “I still need to do some paperwork on that case and…” she rambled on her way to the door.
Again, Castle was faster, his long strides carrying him quickly across the room. With his hand flat against the door, she had no chance to open the door without using physical force. She could feel him in her back, his breath against her neck.
“Do you regret this?” he asked in a low voice and quiet voice that send a shiver down her spine.
“Let me out.” The words came in hardly more than a whisper.
“Kate.” He put a hand on her shoulder and she all but flinched. “Look at me.” Gently, he nudged her to turn around. She had her gaze lowered but he forced her to look at him.
She took a deep breath, gathering her courage on the way. She faced thieves, murderers and worse without so much as blinking, and now she was scared to ask a simple question. Well, no. She wasn’t afraid of the question but of the answer.
“Last night…” she began but broke off. It took her a moment to start again. “Last night, was that just research?”
Castle’s eyebrows went up and he took half a step back as if he was appalled by the question. “Excuse me? I though I just heard you ask…”
“Richard,” she interrupted. The use of his first name brought back an all too vivid memory of last night and Kate shivered inwardly.
He crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a steely gaze. He didn’t even make an effort to hide his hurt. “What do you think?”
“Why can’t you just answer me?” Kate’s fear was slowly replaced by a mixture of impatience and anger.
“Because it’s a ridiculous question.” He stepped back from her.
“Is it?”
“What do you think last night was, Kate?” he asked again.
“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know.” She threw up her hand in defense. “I saw you at the release party; I know you have a way with women. What am I supposed to think?”
“Oh, I don’t know. How about thinking that last night was something special? Hmm? I don’t know what it means exactly, but I’d like to find out. And if anything I write in the future reminds you of last night, it’s merely to acknowledge the fact of how much I enjoyed it and how much I’d like to go out with you again.”
Silence fell between them and in that moment, Kate could only stare at him. That was one more thing she could add to her list of “Things I’d never expect Richard Castle to say or do”.
She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again due to words she couldn’t find. Instead she lowered her eyes as she felt the heat rise up in her cheeks.
“Detective Beckett? What are you doing here? Did my dad get into trouble again?”
They both flinched as Alexis came bounding down the stairs, as Kate was still at a loss for words. Castle jumped to her rescue.
“No, she just came by to hand me my official and, mind you, very shiny consultant’s ID. I’m now officially consulting the PD of NY. How rad is that?”
“Not as rad as the bacon burning to a crisp.” Alexis switched off the stove, dragging the frying pan off the plate, her face twisted in distaste. “So, I hope you didn’t plan on having breakfast with us.”
“No, I was just… I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah, you too.”
“Let me know show you to the elevator, Detective.” Castle held out the door for her and Kate was glad to escape his daughter’s presence. She liked the girl but feeling like being caught in the act wasn’t really adding to her comfort.
Out in the hall, she stopped, busying herself by digging through her coat pocket for her keys. She knew there were still things unsaid but she didn’t want to be the one to say them.
“So?” Castle started, leaning against the closed door, expertly blocking the view through the peephole.
“Um…” Kate couldn’t look at him. “I think I have to apologize to you for making an assumption.”
“No need to. You had every right to make it.” He paused. “Just want you to know that you might be wrong this time.”
Finally, she looked up at him. He just looked at her, open and honest. She believed him. And some part of her kicked her mental shin for not doing so earlier. He was right. He hadn’t lied to her in any way; he hadn’t done anything to fool her about his intentions. She had been with him last night because she had wanted it, she had needed it. She had let herself stumble into this situation without thinking about the consequences; she couldn’t blame him for that.
“So…” he asked again, eyebrows raised in expectation.
“If nobody dies until then,” she began, hesitating for a short moment. While the cop in her was debating the pros and cons, her instinct and maybe even her heart spoke for her. “I’m free on Thursday night.”
“That’s something then.” A boyish grin spread across his lips.
Kate couldn’t help but match it. “Yeah, well. I actually gotta go. Montgomery doesn’t need to why I’m late for work.”
“Oh, is this a secret affair already? Detective, I’m intrigued.”
She rolled her eyes at that, then turned and headed for the elevator. “Don’t knock it, Castle. You never know who might turn up dead.”
“You know what, Kate?” he called after when she had already stepped into the elevator, his lips quirked into a smile. “I’ll be surprisingly good for you.”
fin.
A/N
Thanks everybody who read this and left a comment. It means a lot to me.
I didn't expect this fic to get this lengthy. What was meant to be a little one-shot thing turned into a 20 pages/8.400 words piece. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you will enjoy any future fics as well.