[fic] are they or aren't they?...(Beckett/Castle)
Set post THE THIRD MAN. Dedicated to rogueapprentice, the wind beneath my wings and the Abbot to my Costello. :p HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
“Oh my God…oh my God…oh my God…”
“Good? You like that?”
“More…please, I need more!...”
“Ask me nice.”
“More, or I’ll break your thumb.”
Rick just grinned and handed the jar of sweet relish across the table, watching as Beckett eagerly snatched at it and set to work slathering her hamburger in the stuff that was Reason #18 for coming to a joint like Raimi’s. To him, it was relatively disgusting, but he knew for a fact that Kate could probably have happily eaten straight from the cheap jelly glass diner jar if it wouldn’t have been in bad taste for her to do so.
He was fairly sure Pin Up ManBoy couldn’t have figured it out if she showed up on a date wearing chopped sweet pickle and red peppers in place of lipstick.
“I can’t believe you don’t like this stuff.” Beckett managed after swallowing a bite of fries, pausing to reassemble her burger and take a healthy bite. “It’s practically a food group.”
“Yeah, so are mushrooms, but I don’t eat every toadstool off the ground, now do I?” he shot back gamely as he tore into his own burger (no sweet relish, extra deli mustard) and continued to watch her as she ate. “Amanda? She looked like a sweet relish girl. It never would’ve worked out, her and me.”
“Mmm-hmm…because the divide over sweet relish is huge.”
“Hey! You weren’t there for the Mayo vs. Miracle Whip War of 2001, there were violations of the Geneva Convention that I still have to report my daughter for.”
Kate rolled her eyes and said nothing with a silence that spoke volumes. The periods of easy quiet that fell between them were the first time he’d realized that she’d let him into that social sphere where friends traveled, where she didn’t mind if a chink in the armor showed here and there. She trusted him enough to cover her flank…and he did, or at least tried.
God knew it was an easy enough flank to cover, and far too pretty not to pay attention to…
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the two middle-aged women huddled over an open newspaper, staring when they thought he wasn’t looking. He could have waved, like he was thinking about, or simply ignored them, therefore letting slip a golden opportunity to watch that fire in Beckett flare, doing that thing to her eyes where they sparkled and that other thing to her cheeks where they didn’t quite turn red but came close…
He didn’t get a chance to decide, because she saw him glance and turned, seeing for herself that they were “caught.”
“I said nothing. I did nothing.” He insisted, even though the two women were grinning and jabbing at each other triumphantly.
Her eyes and cheeks burned, but the flame died quickly as weariness overtook her features again.
“Never mind…for tonight? I don’t care. I want food, bath, and bed. I’ll just kill you in the morning.”
Opting for the path of wisdom, Rick mimed zipping and locking his mouth shut before returning his attention to his burger and shake, making a point not to look back up at their eager spectators.
Not even when he thought he saw Beckett’s hand drift up to her hair with a subtle little flip…
“Oh my God…oh my God…oh my God…”
“Good? You like that?”
“More…please, I need more!...”
“Ask me nice.”
“More, or I’ll break your thumb.”
Rick just grinned and handed the jar of sweet relish across the table, watching as Beckett eagerly snatched at it and set to work slathering her hamburger in the stuff that was Reason #18 for coming to a joint like Raimi’s. To him, it was relatively disgusting, but he knew for a fact that Kate could probably have happily eaten straight from the cheap jelly glass diner jar if it wouldn’t have been in bad taste for her to do so.
He was fairly sure Pin Up ManBoy couldn’t have figured it out if she showed up on a date wearing chopped sweet pickle and red peppers in place of lipstick.
“I can’t believe you don’t like this stuff.” Beckett managed after swallowing a bite of fries, pausing to reassemble her burger and take a healthy bite. “It’s practically a food group.”
“Yeah, so are mushrooms, but I don’t eat every toadstool off the ground, now do I?” he shot back gamely as he tore into his own burger (no sweet relish, extra deli mustard) and continued to watch her as she ate. “Amanda? She looked like a sweet relish girl. It never would’ve worked out, her and me.”
“Mmm-hmm…because the divide over sweet relish is huge.”
“Hey! You weren’t there for the Mayo vs. Miracle Whip War of 2001, there were violations of the Geneva Convention that I still have to report my daughter for.”
Kate rolled her eyes and said nothing with a silence that spoke volumes. The periods of easy quiet that fell between them were the first time he’d realized that she’d let him into that social sphere where friends traveled, where she didn’t mind if a chink in the armor showed here and there. She trusted him enough to cover her flank…and he did, or at least tried.
God knew it was an easy enough flank to cover, and far too pretty not to pay attention to…
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the two middle-aged women huddled over an open newspaper, staring when they thought he wasn’t looking. He could have waved, like he was thinking about, or simply ignored them, therefore letting slip a golden opportunity to watch that fire in Beckett flare, doing that thing to her eyes where they sparkled and that other thing to her cheeks where they didn’t quite turn red but came close…
He didn’t get a chance to decide, because she saw him glance and turned, seeing for herself that they were “caught.”
“I said nothing. I did nothing.” He insisted, even though the two women were grinning and jabbing at each other triumphantly.
Her eyes and cheeks burned, but the flame died quickly as weariness overtook her features again.
“Never mind…for tonight? I don’t care. I want food, bath, and bed. I’ll just kill you in the morning.”
Opting for the path of wisdom, Rick mimed zipping and locking his mouth shut before returning his attention to his burger and shake, making a point not to look back up at their eager spectators.
Not even when he thought he saw Beckett’s hand drift up to her hair with a subtle little flip…