Aug. 3rd, '15: Neighborhood Watch - Part III
Title: Neighborhood Watch - Part III
Author: SweetChi
Rating: PG-13
Crossover: Castle
Word Count: 1093
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Castle, I am making no money from this and am doing it purely for enjoyment.
Summary: A little living room bowling is the stuff relationships were founded on.
III
“This place is amazing.”
“You said that last time.”
Kevin heard the smile in Buffy’s voice but the apartment took up his attention. She was beautiful and his eyes didn’t usually like to leave her when she was around, but this place was just… wow. He’d of course seen it when they brought the couch up (and was so awed and shocked then that he’d narrowly missed dropping his end and gouging the beautiful wood floors) but the second time didn’t make it any less magnificent.
He heard the door click shut behind him but his eyes were still processing the baroque stylings of the sprawling space. No wonder those contractors were making so much noise, they really were building a freaking palace! It was practically a miracle they’d pulled this off as quickly as they had. If he’d known this was what they were turning it into and who was moving in he would’ve been a lot more forgiving…
“Your sister has great taste.”
Finally tearing his eyes away and back to his host he found Buffy glancing around with a furrowed brown, as if she were trying to see it from his point of view, before giving a shrug.
“It’s okay. A little much for me, but she had fun planning it all out, and she can be a little obnoxious when she doesn’t get her way…”
“Did she pay for it too?” Horrified that he’d been rude enough to bring up money he shot a panicked look at Buffy and started to apologize. “I’m sorry, that’s not-“
But Buffy just waved him off with a blasé look.
“We kind of got an inheritance, so…” She gave a shrug. “It’s not that it’s mine or hers, but just kinda there.”
That sounded weird… And interesting… But Kevin felt like he’d pushed his luck enough and let it go. After helping her with the couch (his muscles still burned from the workout Espo had forced him to do - maybe his partner was right and he really was out of shape) he’d only seen her once in passing by the door to the building. She seemed like she was in a hurry, but she still stopped to thank him again and invited him to stop by for dinner one night the following week. She hadn’t been in when knocked a few days later but he found a pink post-it on his door the night before, with a girly scribbled “Thursday?” He’d left a manly blue post-it on her door in return with a “Sure! What time?” and a smiley face.
Okay so not so manly…
Kevin stopped as they exited the hall into the living room. There, in the middle of pure opulence, was a mini bowling alley.
“Seriously?” He laughed, looking over at Buffy.
“You brought it up,” she said with a grin. “Thought we’d give it a try.”
It was probably made for kids, maybe for schools - the pins and ball were plastic and undersized. But they had fun, and by the time the take-out arrived they’d invented trick shot bowling that had both of them laughing and almost breaking quite a few things.
“So, the suit was pretty spiffy,” she said later as they sat at the grand dining room table spooning rice out of cardboard containers. “Do I have to earn time with Suit Kevin or what?”
He gave a sheepish grin and glanced down at his jeans and button down.
“I’m kidding,” she said, drawing his attention back to her with a hand on his wrist. “Not that I didn’t like the suit, but I’d rather you be comfortable.”
He’d been wearing a three piece with the pink shirt Javi always made fun of when he’d run into her the other day. The appreciative look she’d given him had made Javi’s comments nothing but dull background noise.
“I just feel like I’m at work when I’m in a suit,” he said with a shrug.
“And what’s work?”
“This thing people do - they offers services in exchange for money-“
She flicked a pea at him from the fried rice. “Smart ass.”
“I’m a detective. Homicide,” he said, watching her reaction.
She paused, food halfway to her mouth, before slowly lowering it back to her plate.
“Oh…”
He cringed a little inside. The job thing was hard for some girls to take. Some were shocked (and probably a little disgusted) to know he was around dead bodies and criminals all day. Others were totally into it but that was fleeting once they got a load of the weird hours, random injuries and occasionally coming home smelling like a dumpster that came with the territory. A few cancelled dates when cases took precedence and they were off searching for greener pastures.
“Glad I picked bowling over ‘Clue - Find the Body Edition’”, she said with a shrug and popped her bite back in her mouth. “You might’ve actually won that…”
“Hey!” He protested, silently elated she brushed the news off so easily. “I got some pretty amazing trick shots in!”
“Pshhh, the one with the vase and the curtain spin don’t count - that was pure luck.”
“Or amazing intuition.”
“Yeah, still going with luck on that one.”
Later that night, full of food and running on the high of having had a really great time, Kevin had kissed her. Not his usual modus operandi - a kiss on the first date (and was this even a date?!) wasn’t really his style, but she just looked so… kissable standing there. It was quick and chaste, but she hadn’t pulled away. She even had a little shy smile as she’d watched him walk down the hall that had bolstered his confidence even more.
That night while he’d was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, wondering when he should ask her out on a real date and what they should do, his phone rang. He groaned as he looked at the time, knowing it could only be work this late.
“Ryan,” he answered, sounding glum.
“I need you at 24th and Lex,” Beckett’s curt voice came over the line. “We didn’t get him. It’s started again.”
Dread pooled in Kevin’s stomach. He didn’t need her to clarify, he knew exactly which case she was talking about and what would be waiting for him at that address.
Upstairs at the same time, Buffy’s phone rang.
“It’s started again,” came the British voice in place of a greeting. “They didn’t stop it.”
Closing her eyes, Buffy slumped and fought back the guilt in knowing another girl was dead because of her.