CASTLE FanFiction: You, Me, and the City of Angels (CHAPTER 5)
Title: You, Me, and the City of Angels
Author: heatxwave10
Rating: PG-13 (T) ***Some language, future mild adult themes***
Genre(s): Romance, Friendship
Characters/Pairings: Castle/Beckett
Spoilers: Everything to date is fair game.
Disclaimer: Castle isn't mine, never will be mine.
Summary: Castle has to go to LA to deal with business concerning the Heat Wave movie, and he wants his favorite detective to accompany him. Will this trip lead to something more for our favorite duo? Takes place in April of season 3.
ALL CHAPTERS
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A/N: Well, the good news is that I got another chapter out the other day. So, I'll post it here in a couple of days.
As for this chapter, I hadn't originally intended for what happens here to happen so soon, but I figured, "What the hell!" Hopefully it's not too fast (although, I don't want to go too slow, either). But, I'll let you decide. Blame it on my desperate need for fluff after the ending of "Countdown" (I wrote this shortly after that episode a couple of weeks ago).
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CHAPTER 5
After landing at LAX and picking up their luggage at baggage claim, a car service arrived to take them to the house, just on the outskirts of the city. Kate gasped as they pulled up the long driveway and she saw how huge this "beach house" was. Forget "house"-this place was more like a beach mansion. She didn't know why she was surprised. After all, most of Castle's friends were probably rich.
"Oh, wow," she breathed.
"Like it?" Rick asked.
"It's gorgeous!"
"Yeah, I thought you might enjoy it," he grinned, "Aren't you glad you came?"
The driver parked the car and proceeded to remove their luggage from the trunk for them. Handing Rick his card, he told them that if they needed his services to just call. With that, he was gone, leaving Kate and Rick to their own devices.
"So," Rick said as they carried their luggage up the front steps of the house, "What should we do first?"
"Well, I'd definitely like a tour," she told him as he unlocked the front door with the keys his friend had left him.
"Then, let's begin right now."
He opened the door, letting her pass through first. Again, she found herself in awe. The foyer of the house had high ceilings that reached beyond where the second floor was, since the upstairs landing overlooked the rest of the room. To the left was a game room, complete with a pool table, and to the right was the living room with a giant flat screen hanging on the back wall. Moving past the main staircase was an archway that led to the back half of the house.
Rick led her this way, showing her the gourmet kitchen and dining room with huge windows that looked out onto the beach and the ocean. A set of sliding glass doors leading to the back deck stood parallel to the archway and the foyer. Opposite the kitchen, behind the game room, was a cozy sitting-room-slash-sun-room. Looking back at the kitchen, Kate noticed that there was an archway connecting it to the living room.
Taking her through the sliding doors, they made their way out onto the back deck. A hot tub sat in the corner of the deck, accompanied by a wooden table and chairs. Unfortunately, there wasn't a pool. But, who needed one when there was an entire ocean to swim in?
Looking out onto the beach, Kate spotted a stone fire pit on a brick patio, accompanied by wooden lawn chairs. Not far from the fire pit, two palm trees sat side-by-side, holding a hammock into place.
God, this was going to be a great stay! She could picture putting every bit of this house to use-taking dips in the hot tub or the ocean, napping or reading a book while lounging in the hammock, roasting marshmallows over the fire pit...the possibilities were endless.
"I take it you're excited," Rick noted, seeing the look of pleasant wonder on her face.
"It really is amazing, Rick," she said, feeling the cool breeze against her skin and listening to the peaceful sound of the waves, "And, you say this is your friend's place?"
"Yeah. Ted and his family spend summers and spring breaks here a lot. I've stayed here several times as well. He's always teasing me because it's 'bigger' than my place in the Hamptons. Still, all in good fun, not to mention that he was gracious enough to let us commandeer it for two weeks."
They stood there silently for a few moments, taking in the calm, secluded atmosphere of the beach.
"Ready to see the rest of the house?" he finally asked.
She nodded, and they made their way back into the house and to the foyer. Picking up their luggage, they ventured up the stairs and to the second floor. It was a single hallway (well, more of a loft since it looked over the foyer), connecting five different rooms.
"Okay," Rick said, "To the left here at the end of the hall, there's the master bedroom, which you're welcome to take unless you would prefer one of the other two. Right here"-he pointed to the door directly across from the top of the stairs-"you've got a study. Then, next to it, you've got the guest bathroom. And, the other two bedrooms are just past that..
"Alright," she nodded, "So, you said that I could have my pick out of the bedrooms?"
"Go ahead and take a look, then just name your poison. Whichever one you want is yours."
As Kate toured all three rooms, she could say they were all gorgeous and they all overlooked the beach. Deciding to be generous and let Rick take the master, she chose the one closest to the guest bathroom (as the master was the only one with a private bathroom).
They went their separate ways for a short time after that to unpack their belongings and settle in. As Kate put the last of her clothes into the oak dresser of her room, she heard a soft knock. Looking up, she saw Rick standing in the doorway.
"Hey," she said, "Finished already?"
"I'm a man," he explained, "I don't require as much as you women-folk do."
"That was so sexist," she half-laughed-half-scoffed.
"Just as I'm sure there are plenty of sexist statements women make about men."
"Okay, so, what was your real point in coming in here other than to annoy me?"
"Well, it's barely 5:30, and our dinner reservations aren't until 7:00, so I was wondering what you wanted to do until then."
"Hmm..." she pondered this for a moment, "I was going to take a nap, but now I think I much rather kick your ass at pool."
"You're on."
He was now standing right in front of her, his face inches from hers.
"Bring it," she poked his chest with a finger before sauntering out of the room.
"What the hell, Castle!" Kate declared incredulously as Rick sank his last ball into a pocket of the pool table about forty-five minutes later. This was their second game, and he'd won both times.
"Now you know not to challenge me to pool, Detective," he grinned cockily, "I've had a lot of practice in my time."
"I've had a lot of practice, too, but you sank a ball in almost every time. I even saw you sink three in at once. How?"
"I'll show you," he laid his pool stick down and walked over to stand behind her, his chest pressing against her back, "Your problem is how you position your elbow. Here."
He nudged her elbow, encouraging her to lift her pool stick and position the end of it in front of the white cue ball.
"You need to lift your elbow higher, keeping it straight and steady," he told her, helping her to position said elbow with one hand while the other rested on her hip to steady her.
She could feel his warm breath against her neck, causing her to shiver.
"Okay, now pull back," he instructed, to which she followed, "And...release."
She tapped the cue ball with the stick, sending two of the numbered balls into a pocket of the table.
"Hardly ever fails," he told her as she turned her head to look at him.
"You're pretty good at this game, Mr. Castle," she said, noticing that he was still pressed against her with his hands on her arm and hip.
The way he was looking at her caused goosebumps to erupt throughout her body. It was a hint of longing mixed with admiration. When her eyes locked with his, she felt as if a magnetic force was urging her, calling to her to close the few inches between them.
Their faces now close enough for their breaths to mingle, they lingered there for a moment before allowing their lips to meet. The kiss was slow at first, as if just testing the waters. But as their lips began to move in sync, they needed more. Dropping the pool stick in her hands, she turned her body full against his, snaking her arms up his chest and wrapping them around his neck to deepen the kiss. Meanwhile, he brought one hand around to circle her waist and the other to thread through her dark hair. She grazed her tongue across his bottom lip before granting him full access. She moaned softly, spearing her fingers through his hair as his tongue slipped into her mouth and his hands made their way beneath her shirt to caress the soft, bare skin of her sides.
This was wrong. This was all wrong. Yet, it felt so...right. Not to mention that he was a damn good kisser. Sure, she'd kissed him the one time, but that kiss couldn't hold a candle to this one.
They finally broke apart when the need for oxygen couldn't be ignored. He rested his hands on her waist while she rested hers on his shoulders.
"Wow," he said breathlessly.
"Yeah," she agreed, catching her breath as well.
Then, the realization set in: she had just kissed Richard freaking Castle-again. And, suddenly, she found herself needing to escape, to think things through and process them. Because she certainly wasn't going to be able to think clearly while they were still touching each other and in close proximity.
"I, uh..." she began awkwardly, quickly pulling away from him to retreat, "I should go shower...before we head out. It was a long plane trip and I, um...I need to freshen-up before we go to dinner."
"Um...yeah. Yeah, me too," he replied, equally as awkward.
They both left the game room and made their way into the foyer. They both stopped short at the foot of the stairs, realizing that, unless they wanted to walk really close together, they could only go up one at a time. There was a short moment where they both seemed to flip-flop about who should go first. Finally, he made the decision for them.
Backing up to let her by, he gestured toward the steps and said, "Ladies first."
She accepted and made her way up the stairs, him following closely behind. Once at the top of the steps, he disappeared into the master bedroom while she quickly made her way to her own room to grab nicer clothes for dinner, carrying them with her to the guest bathroom. Now that she was out of his sight and proximity, she could breath and think properly again.
As she turned the shower on and stripped herself of her clothing, she couldn't get the kiss they had just shared off of her mind. God, they had barely been there an hour, and she was already making out with him. Was she trying to turn this into that kind of trip? This wasn't supposed to happen-or, at least, not this soon. Damn him! Damn him and his gorgeous blue eyes. Damn him and his warmth and natural charm that made it difficult for her to resist. Just...damn!
And it didn't help that her lips were still tingling from the intimate contact with his.
Once the shower was a suitable temperature, she stepped into the spray, letting the hot water sooth her. To her, there was always something therapeutic about taking a shower-even more therapeutic than a bubble bath. Sometimes, even though she had already showered that morning, she would go home at the end of a long day and take another. She loved how the water warmed her skin and the clean feeling she got from it afterward. Plus, the shower was always a great place to think. It relaxed her mind and helped thoughts to come more clearly.
So, by the time she was finished, she'd reached a conclusion about Castle: she wouldn't make any decisions about them yet, and she wouldn't say a word about the kiss unless and until he felt like talking about it. However, she would remain open to him, giving him opportunities to bring it up.
Now to push it temporarily out of her mind so that they could enjoy a comfortable, pleasant dinner.
Rick's mind was still reeling as he stepped out of the shower in the master bathroom. No matter what he did, he couldn't shake himself of the feeling of her lips against his. Oh, how he wanted to do that so much more often-every day, if she would let him. Sadly, this wasn't happening...yet.
He wanted her to be his; there was no question about that. In fact, if he was being honest with himself, he loved her. What was worse, he had fallen hard for a woman that he just couldn't seem to prove himself to. It wasn't about trust or friendship. They had already formed a strong bond in that department. But, the lack of intimacy and the fact that she couldn't seem to let him in all the way was the obstacle. This wasn't about sex or his next potential best-selling novel; it had never really been about either of those in the first place. He'd become attracted to everything about her-her brains, her beauty, her strength, her heart of gold that she kept hidden underneath her cop surface except when consoling murder victims' families...and those were just a fraction of who she was. He had seen even more than that, and he knew there was still plenty more to learn about her. And he wanted to uncover every bit of it.
After sharing another amazing kiss with her, this one not for pretense, his want only increased. But, would she be willing to take the next step? He knew she wasn't just going to open up to him on her own about it; that just wasn't her. So, as far as he could see, he had two options: 1). Talk to her and lay his cards out on the table, or 2). Steer clear of the risk for rejection and pretend it never happened.
No, he thought when he considered the latter. He'd kept this to himself and waited for her for way too long. He needed to tell her. Of course, he wouldn't just throw it all out there right away. She was sure to need some time to think it over as well, and he was willing to let her have it for the time being. But, he would have to say something soon.
In the mean time, dinner awaited them.
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A/N: So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Is it too much too fast, or is it just the right pace? Did I handle it well? Did I handle it poorly? Please let me know by dropping a comment!
Oh, and only two more days until the new episode! This is sure to be a great one. Though pretty much all of them are--except the last four episodes of season 2; Demming ruined it all and pissed me off, then the writers pretty much screwed the shippers at the end of the season finale. Just sayin'. I'm over it now, as long as this season ends on a happy note rather than a sour one for C/B like they've done for the past two seasons. Oh, and after the events of "Countdown," they need to nix Dr. Motorcycle Boy soon. In the words of Bon Qui Qui: "This dude need to go. Need. To. Go!" If only Castle had called "suh-kurity" on him when he interrupted whatever he was REALLY going to say to Beckett...
Anyway, that's my rambling for today. It's all old news. Just had to get that off my chest, but I'm done now.