Fic: And the Truth Spillith Over (1/1)
Author: thefallingapple
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Based on the promo for 4.21
Length: ~800 words
Summary: Castle and Beckett are overdue for a confrontation.
Disclaimer: Not mine, I’m just borrowing them for a bit.
Author's Note: This is just a quick little scene that I haven't been able to get out of my head since seeing the promo for 4.21. No beta because I wanted to get it posted tonight.
*~*~*~*
“You’re a writer, Castle, not a cop.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Castle pauses, gives a shrug that she’s sure is supposed to be nonchalant. He doesn’t quite pull it off. “Maybe this will work out for the best. I’ve got someone new to shadow and you can stop pretending you want me around.”
She gapes at him, because even though he’s been distant lately, his words blindside her. “Pretending? Castle, you are my partner.” She feels anger bubbling up and she pauses to let it build, because anger is the only thing that’s going to keep her together. “You don’t get to write me off like that. You are my partner and you’ve been with us long enough to know what that means to a cop.”
“Well, Beckett, you like to tell me I’m not a cop, so maybe I don’t get it after all, because partner sounds a whole lot like ‘let’s just be friends.’”
Warning bells are going off because he hasn’t brought them up so bluntly since... “Look Beckett, I know. I know you remember the shooting.” Oh. “So I know that you heard me and clearly you don’t return the feelings, so let’s just cut the crap and be done with it.”
If this conversation had happened in a different way, she might have been able to see and process the hurt behind his words, but his anger is fueling hers, and she can’t get past the fact that he was willing to walk away from her based on a poorly-made assumption. “So that’s it, then? You decide how things are and you’re going to walk away without even talking to me?”
“Talking? That’s rich, coming from you,” he says bitterly.
She ignores the jab and keeps going. “What happened to sharing your improbable theories with me?”
“Oh, so I suppose you have a better one.”
It’s not how she wants to tell him, would never have wanted it to come out as a reaction to anger, and she doesn’t want it to be because she has something to prove. Still, she is angry, so her words are sharp. “I do. I have another theory, a better story.”
She takes a deep breath and in her hesitation, Castle retorts, “Let’s hear it then. What’s the explanation that’s going to make this all make sense?”
Beckett has to close her eyes because she can’t bear the fury in his. “I…Damn you, Castle, I love you.”
There’s a long moment of complete silence and Beckett is suddenly glad that this conversation is happening in a deserted corner of the precinct and not in the middle of the bullpen. When Castle doesn’t respond, she lifts her head and gives him a challenging glare.
“I don’t know. That doesn’t seem very plausible to me.” He’s trying to be sarcastic, but the sharp edge is wavering. “If you really loved me, how could you lie to me like that?” By the time he finishes the sentence, his voice is plaintive.
“It wasn’t something I planned. I was just…so screwed up, so broken. I still am. I needed to put myself back together so that we could have a chance.” His face is still an angry mask, but he’s listening, so she goes on despite the fact that nothing she’s saying feels like enough. “And I know that sounds…” She throws her arms up in frustration. “It sounds lame, but I just wanted to be whole. For you.” Her anger is fading, so she has to consciously push back against the tears.
When he speaks his voice is softer, but there’s a hint of reproach. “Everyone is a little bit broken, Beckett. But when you really love someone, you love all of them.” He takes a small step closer to her. “And when you love someone, you trust them to help make you whole - to make each other whole.”
“Castle, I’m…” Her voice breaks and she doesn’t even fight it. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
He takes another step closer, holding her elbows and pressing his forehead to hers. “You really love me?”
She gives a slight nod, rocking both their heads together. “So much it scares me.”
The grip on her arms tightens. “I am such an idiot.”
“You were rather criminally misinformed.”
“And just so we’re clear, I’m still angry with you about that,” he says softly, even as he lifts one hand to brush the backs of his fingers along her jawbone.
She wraps her fingers around his wrist and runs her thumb over his pulse point. “Duly noted.” With a small measure of trepidation she looks up to meet his eyes. When she sees his tender smile, her answering grin is radiant.
fin
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Based on the promo for 4.21
Length: ~800 words
Summary: Castle and Beckett are overdue for a confrontation.
Disclaimer: Not mine, I’m just borrowing them for a bit.
Author's Note: This is just a quick little scene that I haven't been able to get out of my head since seeing the promo for 4.21. No beta because I wanted to get it posted tonight.
*~*~*~*
“You’re a writer, Castle, not a cop.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Castle pauses, gives a shrug that she’s sure is supposed to be nonchalant. He doesn’t quite pull it off. “Maybe this will work out for the best. I’ve got someone new to shadow and you can stop pretending you want me around.”
She gapes at him, because even though he’s been distant lately, his words blindside her. “Pretending? Castle, you are my partner.” She feels anger bubbling up and she pauses to let it build, because anger is the only thing that’s going to keep her together. “You don’t get to write me off like that. You are my partner and you’ve been with us long enough to know what that means to a cop.”
“Well, Beckett, you like to tell me I’m not a cop, so maybe I don’t get it after all, because partner sounds a whole lot like ‘let’s just be friends.’”
Warning bells are going off because he hasn’t brought them up so bluntly since... “Look Beckett, I know. I know you remember the shooting.” Oh. “So I know that you heard me and clearly you don’t return the feelings, so let’s just cut the crap and be done with it.”
If this conversation had happened in a different way, she might have been able to see and process the hurt behind his words, but his anger is fueling hers, and she can’t get past the fact that he was willing to walk away from her based on a poorly-made assumption. “So that’s it, then? You decide how things are and you’re going to walk away without even talking to me?”
“Talking? That’s rich, coming from you,” he says bitterly.
She ignores the jab and keeps going. “What happened to sharing your improbable theories with me?”
“Oh, so I suppose you have a better one.”
It’s not how she wants to tell him, would never have wanted it to come out as a reaction to anger, and she doesn’t want it to be because she has something to prove. Still, she is angry, so her words are sharp. “I do. I have another theory, a better story.”
She takes a deep breath and in her hesitation, Castle retorts, “Let’s hear it then. What’s the explanation that’s going to make this all make sense?”
Beckett has to close her eyes because she can’t bear the fury in his. “I…Damn you, Castle, I love you.”
There’s a long moment of complete silence and Beckett is suddenly glad that this conversation is happening in a deserted corner of the precinct and not in the middle of the bullpen. When Castle doesn’t respond, she lifts her head and gives him a challenging glare.
“I don’t know. That doesn’t seem very plausible to me.” He’s trying to be sarcastic, but the sharp edge is wavering. “If you really loved me, how could you lie to me like that?” By the time he finishes the sentence, his voice is plaintive.
“It wasn’t something I planned. I was just…so screwed up, so broken. I still am. I needed to put myself back together so that we could have a chance.” His face is still an angry mask, but he’s listening, so she goes on despite the fact that nothing she’s saying feels like enough. “And I know that sounds…” She throws her arms up in frustration. “It sounds lame, but I just wanted to be whole. For you.” Her anger is fading, so she has to consciously push back against the tears.
When he speaks his voice is softer, but there’s a hint of reproach. “Everyone is a little bit broken, Beckett. But when you really love someone, you love all of them.” He takes a small step closer to her. “And when you love someone, you trust them to help make you whole - to make each other whole.”
“Castle, I’m…” Her voice breaks and she doesn’t even fight it. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
He takes another step closer, holding her elbows and pressing his forehead to hers. “You really love me?”
She gives a slight nod, rocking both their heads together. “So much it scares me.”
The grip on her arms tightens. “I am such an idiot.”
“You were rather criminally misinformed.”
“And just so we’re clear, I’m still angry with you about that,” he says softly, even as he lifts one hand to brush the backs of his fingers along her jawbone.
She wraps her fingers around his wrist and runs her thumb over his pulse point. “Duly noted.” With a small measure of trepidation she looks up to meet his eyes. When she sees his tender smile, her answering grin is radiant.
fin