Fic: Second Choice (2/? of Scheherazade)
Title: Second Choice (2/? of Scheherazade)
Genre: Romance
Characters: Castle/Beckett, Lanie
Rating: Safe for everyone
Summary: Castle takes advantage of Beckett's sweet tooth.
This was originally going to be part of 'Wrong' until that story decided to be a nice little angst fest. So it lay forgotten in my fic folder until today, and lo and behold, another one shot is born! Fic takes place in season three, but disregard 'Knockout' and all of Season 4.
Second Choice
00000
The moment Richard Castle met Lanie Parish, he knew she was a force to be reckoned with. He remembered her steely gaze, her eyes narrowing just that much, taking him in as if she was deciding whether he was good enough to be following her best friend around. Of course, he hadn't known at the time that the two were best friends, but nevertheless, he'd caught the 'don't you dare mess with my girl' vibe from her and experience told him that if there was a code that one shouldn't mess with - besides the mafia code, of course - it was the girl code.
Her sass and wit drew him in and he was intrigued by her. Not as intrigued as he was with Beckett, but still curious enough about the relatively young medical examiner, the woman who was never afraid to speak her mind, who called him out on his ridiculous theories, who chastised him appropriately for being immature - and the one person who Beckett seemed to be able to confide in and open up to.
Castle will readily admit that he was slightly jealous of Lanie just for that last reason.
So when he got the very cryptic text from her one evening after a long day of meeting with his agents, he jumped at the opportunity. He didn't get that many chances to talk to Lanie alone - Beckett was usually around and more often than not, there always was a dead body that warranted their full attention.
He made the trip in record time and entered the morgue feeling more than slightly excited. Who knew what she had in store for him that evening? A funky looking dead body that Beckett would totally disapprove being shown to him? An update on the department wide 'How many times can Beckett chase a suspect in heels and not fall' pool? The possibilities were endless.
The sight before him as he entered the cold room had him floored.
"What- you … you look nice tonight," he managed, his eyes taking in the sleek dark blue dress the doctor had on. The material was flowy - silk? Satin? He'd have to ask her later so that he could get the same kind for Beckett at some point. He knew she'd look good in it. Allowing his gaze to move upwards, taking in the perfectly curled hair, he flashed her a grin.
"Date night?"
Lanie rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. "Yes, and the reason why you are here is that I need you to be a loyal girlfriend while I go on my date night," she said as she switched her purse from one hand to the other. Clearly, she was getting agitated. Late, probably. And Esposito would probably be waiting for her - wait, hang on.
"Girlfriend?" Castle furrowed his eyebrows. "Wha-"
"It's Kate. She needs someone right now, and that someone is usually me, but Javier," she cringed as she noticed Castle's smirk at her use of his first name. "Javier's made reservations at some swanky place tonight an' I ain't gonna be able to get out of it. So that responsibility now falls on you."
"… to be a loyal girlfriend?" Castle repeated slowly, trying to wrap his head around the idea. The woman was infuriatingly confusing tonight.
"Exactly."
"But … girlfriend? Why can't I just be a friend? Because I am, you know, her friend," he insisted, even as Lanie waved a hand dismissively in front of his face.
"'Cause right now, that's who Kate needs. And you and I both know you're metro enough to pass off as one of us so I've decided that you'll do fine. Just … tell her how boys are stupid or something. Do not, I repeat, do not ask her about Josh."
"Wait, Josh?" Oh, puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place.
"Oh my God, you really are blind when it comes to Kate aren't you? They broke up last night. Usually we make a girls night out of breakups but we can't tonight, so you have to do it.
"I haven't been at the precinct today, I didn't - Lanie, I don't know…"
Castle shifted his weight from foot to foot uneasily. When it came to Beckett and her love life, he would never, ever be comfortable with it. Came with the territory, he supposed. The territory of a man who was so helplessly in love with her and didn't have the guts to do anything about it. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck in contemplation as Lanie's stare got even more intimidating.
"Are you her friend?"
"Yes."
"Do you care about her?"
"You know I do."
"Do you want her to wallow in sadness and self-pity all by herself tonight?"
"No, of course not."
"So, Richard Castle, you go over there, bring ice cream and lots of it, some cookie dough, some fruits and you make yourself the most perfect boy-hatin' girlfriend Kate's ever known, you hear me?"
00000
The door inched open and he spotted a sliver of her face through the gap, partially obscured by the security chain across the doorframe. He cleared his throat.
"Can I come in?"
"No."
"Okay, yeah. I can't accept that answer because I had to get ice cream, and then drive here and walk all the way up because for some reason your elevator isn't working - and it's melting. And no one likes melted ice-cream so you have to let me in so we can eat it before it becomes … flavoured milk."
She shut the door in his face without another word, but before he could shift his load around to knock again, he heard the faint scrape of metal against metal and he realised that she was sliding the chain off the hook. Sure enough, two seconds later the door reopened, sans metal chain and this time she stepped back with an exaggerated eye roll to let him in.
He tossed her a grin as he walked past her and made a beeline to her kitchen. "I got us vanilla, because I wanted to have complete freedom with toppings. I mean, I got chocolate syrup and sprinkles, marshmallows, cookie dough -
"Castle."
"- strawberries, blueberries, some wafer sticks -
"Castle!"
"What?"
"Who told you?"
Right. Lanie didn't say, but she probably wouldn't want Beckett finding out that she'd told on her. That was part of the girl code, wasn't it? The female version of 'bros over hos'.
"…um, no one. No one told me anything. I'm … uh, just here. For fun," he answered weakly, knowing that the moment the words parted from his lips, she'd know he was lying. Poor attempt Rick, try harder next time.
"Lanie has such a big mouth."
Yup. Point proven. And if Beckett's expression was anything to go by, she wasn't happy with that particular revelation. It was then he actually turned to fully face her, taking her in for the first time that night without the door or his load of groceries obstructing his view.
Oversized T-shirt, leggings, socks. Déjà vu. Only last time, her hair was up, and they had a serial killer on the loose. Clearly she hadn't been expecting company; her cheeks were damp, her eyes slightly red-rimmed and puffy, and her hair falling in a mess of unruly curls around her head. Either she'd been crying, or she'd been really, really upset.
The realisation hit him like a ton of rocks and his heart ached for her. He hated seeing her upset.
"Lanie's only looking out for you," he said gently, picking out two extra-large tubs of vanilla ice cream and setting them on the table between them. He started unloading the rest of the toppings, but paused as she sniffled.
"I don't need looking after," she muttered, settling herself in a chair opposite from where he was standing. She pulled her feet up and rested her chin on her knees, her hands coming around her legs to hold them close to her body. She leaned back into the backrest of the chair and breathed out steadily.
He eyed her critically, unsure of what to say. She wasn't really looking at him and he suspected that he wasn't expected to answer her anyway. She was staring into the distance expressionless, and he was reminded of the time when Alexis had broken up with Owen.
Yeah, he had to fix this.
"Sure, you're big bad Beckett, all tough and independent. But you know what? Super heroes need ice cream too, and lots and lots of it," he said, leaning forwards so that his face was inches from hers. "C'mon, you know you want this. Think of all the combinations we can make with this stuff!"
His hands gestured across the table where he'd laid out the toppings. Jars and squeeze bottles and little packets of nothing but sugary (and mostly chocolate-y) goodness.
"Oh hey, a smile!"
And indeed, a small smile graced her otherwise solemn features. "Oh, you know me and sugar, Castle - sweet tooth just as bad as yours," she mumbled, picking up the packet of marshmallows and ripping the top off. "Now give me that tub."
"... the entire tub?"
She shot him an annoyed look. "Did I stutter?"
"No. It's just - that's … a lot of ice cream. For one person. But you know what, here. Tonight, I do as you say, and you want … lots of ice cream. Man, Lanie wasn't kidding."
He walked around the table and passed her the tub as he sank into the chair next to her. She pried open the tub and squeezed a generous amount of chocolate sauce into it, garnishing it with the marshmallows she'd opened up earlier. He watched her for a few moments, captivated.
"So, what do I do now?"
"Wha-?" She spoke around the spoon that was sticking out of her mouth and Castle swore that he'd never seen anything cuter.
"When you … wallow. Lanie said you need girlfriends for that, and this is the first time I'm being anyone's girlfriend - wow, that sounded horribly kinky - but I digress. So what do I do now?"
Beckett peered at him curiously, another spoonful of ice cream on the way to her mouth, this time adorned with chocolate chips. "So … she sent you? Like… as a backup plan? The second choice?"
For a moment, Castle thought about denying it. Make her think he stopped by out of the goodness of his heart and the pure gentlemanliness of his nature. Yeah, he brushed that thought away just as quickly as it had appeared. No need for more lies, especially since his entire gender probably wasn't doing too well on the list of things Beckett liked right now anyway.
"Hey, I could be the best second choice you'll ever have," he teased, snagging her full spoon and bringing it to his own mouth. She slapped his shoulder in irritation, but said nothing as she pulled the spoon out from between his lips and started digging for more for herself.
A stray thought crossed his mind and the child in him realised that he'd just kissed Beckett. Eating from the same tub, sharing the same spoon. They might as well just have sex already. He chuckled at his own childishness and then schooled his features. No, no nine year old tonight. Adult Rick was what the doctor ordered and that's who he'll be tonight.
"We don't talk about it," Beckett said suddenly. He cocked his head at her, his silence urging her to continue. "The reason why you're here, I mean. We don't bring it up unless I feel like it, we watch a movie, maybe tell a few childhood stories, make each other laugh. That's what girlfriends do."
"Right."
"And second choice or not, you gotta abide by those rules, okay?"
"Aye, aye, Captain!"
She grinned at him then, a full blown smile that had her eyes crinkling in mirth. She pushed the tub of ice-cream so that it sat in the middle of the both of them and offered her spoon to him.
"And we drown ourselves in ice cream until we're lying in the hospital in a sugar induced coma."
He laughed as she did and she scooted closer, her thigh barely brushing against his under the table.
"Thank you, Castle. For this. For everything," she said after a few minutes of companionable silence. Her voice was thick with emotion and for a second, all he wanted to do was pull her into a hug and cradle her till she felt okay again. But that wasn't the kind of relationship they had. As much as he hated it, their relationship was a very hands-off one so he did the only thing he knew for a fact he could do.
"Need to tell you something, Beckett."
"Yeah?"
He leaned in towards her conspiratorially, widened his eyes as if he was preparing to tell her one of the world's greatest secrets and moved to whisper in her ear.
"Boys are really stupid."
He made her laugh.
00000
Genre: Romance
Characters: Castle/Beckett, Lanie
Rating: Safe for everyone
Summary: Castle takes advantage of Beckett's sweet tooth.
This was originally going to be part of 'Wrong' until that story decided to be a nice little angst fest. So it lay forgotten in my fic folder until today, and lo and behold, another one shot is born! Fic takes place in season three, but disregard 'Knockout' and all of Season 4.
Second Choice
00000
The moment Richard Castle met Lanie Parish, he knew she was a force to be reckoned with. He remembered her steely gaze, her eyes narrowing just that much, taking him in as if she was deciding whether he was good enough to be following her best friend around. Of course, he hadn't known at the time that the two were best friends, but nevertheless, he'd caught the 'don't you dare mess with my girl' vibe from her and experience told him that if there was a code that one shouldn't mess with - besides the mafia code, of course - it was the girl code.
Her sass and wit drew him in and he was intrigued by her. Not as intrigued as he was with Beckett, but still curious enough about the relatively young medical examiner, the woman who was never afraid to speak her mind, who called him out on his ridiculous theories, who chastised him appropriately for being immature - and the one person who Beckett seemed to be able to confide in and open up to.
Castle will readily admit that he was slightly jealous of Lanie just for that last reason.
So when he got the very cryptic text from her one evening after a long day of meeting with his agents, he jumped at the opportunity. He didn't get that many chances to talk to Lanie alone - Beckett was usually around and more often than not, there always was a dead body that warranted their full attention.
He made the trip in record time and entered the morgue feeling more than slightly excited. Who knew what she had in store for him that evening? A funky looking dead body that Beckett would totally disapprove being shown to him? An update on the department wide 'How many times can Beckett chase a suspect in heels and not fall' pool? The possibilities were endless.
The sight before him as he entered the cold room had him floored.
"What- you … you look nice tonight," he managed, his eyes taking in the sleek dark blue dress the doctor had on. The material was flowy - silk? Satin? He'd have to ask her later so that he could get the same kind for Beckett at some point. He knew she'd look good in it. Allowing his gaze to move upwards, taking in the perfectly curled hair, he flashed her a grin.
"Date night?"
Lanie rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. "Yes, and the reason why you are here is that I need you to be a loyal girlfriend while I go on my date night," she said as she switched her purse from one hand to the other. Clearly, she was getting agitated. Late, probably. And Esposito would probably be waiting for her - wait, hang on.
"Girlfriend?" Castle furrowed his eyebrows. "Wha-"
"It's Kate. She needs someone right now, and that someone is usually me, but Javier," she cringed as she noticed Castle's smirk at her use of his first name. "Javier's made reservations at some swanky place tonight an' I ain't gonna be able to get out of it. So that responsibility now falls on you."
"… to be a loyal girlfriend?" Castle repeated slowly, trying to wrap his head around the idea. The woman was infuriatingly confusing tonight.
"Exactly."
"But … girlfriend? Why can't I just be a friend? Because I am, you know, her friend," he insisted, even as Lanie waved a hand dismissively in front of his face.
"'Cause right now, that's who Kate needs. And you and I both know you're metro enough to pass off as one of us so I've decided that you'll do fine. Just … tell her how boys are stupid or something. Do not, I repeat, do not ask her about Josh."
"Wait, Josh?" Oh, puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place.
"Oh my God, you really are blind when it comes to Kate aren't you? They broke up last night. Usually we make a girls night out of breakups but we can't tonight, so you have to do it.
"I haven't been at the precinct today, I didn't - Lanie, I don't know…"
Castle shifted his weight from foot to foot uneasily. When it came to Beckett and her love life, he would never, ever be comfortable with it. Came with the territory, he supposed. The territory of a man who was so helplessly in love with her and didn't have the guts to do anything about it. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck in contemplation as Lanie's stare got even more intimidating.
"Are you her friend?"
"Yes."
"Do you care about her?"
"You know I do."
"Do you want her to wallow in sadness and self-pity all by herself tonight?"
"No, of course not."
"So, Richard Castle, you go over there, bring ice cream and lots of it, some cookie dough, some fruits and you make yourself the most perfect boy-hatin' girlfriend Kate's ever known, you hear me?"
00000
The door inched open and he spotted a sliver of her face through the gap, partially obscured by the security chain across the doorframe. He cleared his throat.
"Can I come in?"
"No."
"Okay, yeah. I can't accept that answer because I had to get ice cream, and then drive here and walk all the way up because for some reason your elevator isn't working - and it's melting. And no one likes melted ice-cream so you have to let me in so we can eat it before it becomes … flavoured milk."
She shut the door in his face without another word, but before he could shift his load around to knock again, he heard the faint scrape of metal against metal and he realised that she was sliding the chain off the hook. Sure enough, two seconds later the door reopened, sans metal chain and this time she stepped back with an exaggerated eye roll to let him in.
He tossed her a grin as he walked past her and made a beeline to her kitchen. "I got us vanilla, because I wanted to have complete freedom with toppings. I mean, I got chocolate syrup and sprinkles, marshmallows, cookie dough -
"Castle."
"- strawberries, blueberries, some wafer sticks -
"Castle!"
"What?"
"Who told you?"
Right. Lanie didn't say, but she probably wouldn't want Beckett finding out that she'd told on her. That was part of the girl code, wasn't it? The female version of 'bros over hos'.
"…um, no one. No one told me anything. I'm … uh, just here. For fun," he answered weakly, knowing that the moment the words parted from his lips, she'd know he was lying. Poor attempt Rick, try harder next time.
"Lanie has such a big mouth."
Yup. Point proven. And if Beckett's expression was anything to go by, she wasn't happy with that particular revelation. It was then he actually turned to fully face her, taking her in for the first time that night without the door or his load of groceries obstructing his view.
Oversized T-shirt, leggings, socks. Déjà vu. Only last time, her hair was up, and they had a serial killer on the loose. Clearly she hadn't been expecting company; her cheeks were damp, her eyes slightly red-rimmed and puffy, and her hair falling in a mess of unruly curls around her head. Either she'd been crying, or she'd been really, really upset.
The realisation hit him like a ton of rocks and his heart ached for her. He hated seeing her upset.
"Lanie's only looking out for you," he said gently, picking out two extra-large tubs of vanilla ice cream and setting them on the table between them. He started unloading the rest of the toppings, but paused as she sniffled.
"I don't need looking after," she muttered, settling herself in a chair opposite from where he was standing. She pulled her feet up and rested her chin on her knees, her hands coming around her legs to hold them close to her body. She leaned back into the backrest of the chair and breathed out steadily.
He eyed her critically, unsure of what to say. She wasn't really looking at him and he suspected that he wasn't expected to answer her anyway. She was staring into the distance expressionless, and he was reminded of the time when Alexis had broken up with Owen.
Yeah, he had to fix this.
"Sure, you're big bad Beckett, all tough and independent. But you know what? Super heroes need ice cream too, and lots and lots of it," he said, leaning forwards so that his face was inches from hers. "C'mon, you know you want this. Think of all the combinations we can make with this stuff!"
His hands gestured across the table where he'd laid out the toppings. Jars and squeeze bottles and little packets of nothing but sugary (and mostly chocolate-y) goodness.
"Oh hey, a smile!"
And indeed, a small smile graced her otherwise solemn features. "Oh, you know me and sugar, Castle - sweet tooth just as bad as yours," she mumbled, picking up the packet of marshmallows and ripping the top off. "Now give me that tub."
"... the entire tub?"
She shot him an annoyed look. "Did I stutter?"
"No. It's just - that's … a lot of ice cream. For one person. But you know what, here. Tonight, I do as you say, and you want … lots of ice cream. Man, Lanie wasn't kidding."
He walked around the table and passed her the tub as he sank into the chair next to her. She pried open the tub and squeezed a generous amount of chocolate sauce into it, garnishing it with the marshmallows she'd opened up earlier. He watched her for a few moments, captivated.
"So, what do I do now?"
"Wha-?" She spoke around the spoon that was sticking out of her mouth and Castle swore that he'd never seen anything cuter.
"When you … wallow. Lanie said you need girlfriends for that, and this is the first time I'm being anyone's girlfriend - wow, that sounded horribly kinky - but I digress. So what do I do now?"
Beckett peered at him curiously, another spoonful of ice cream on the way to her mouth, this time adorned with chocolate chips. "So … she sent you? Like… as a backup plan? The second choice?"
For a moment, Castle thought about denying it. Make her think he stopped by out of the goodness of his heart and the pure gentlemanliness of his nature. Yeah, he brushed that thought away just as quickly as it had appeared. No need for more lies, especially since his entire gender probably wasn't doing too well on the list of things Beckett liked right now anyway.
"Hey, I could be the best second choice you'll ever have," he teased, snagging her full spoon and bringing it to his own mouth. She slapped his shoulder in irritation, but said nothing as she pulled the spoon out from between his lips and started digging for more for herself.
A stray thought crossed his mind and the child in him realised that he'd just kissed Beckett. Eating from the same tub, sharing the same spoon. They might as well just have sex already. He chuckled at his own childishness and then schooled his features. No, no nine year old tonight. Adult Rick was what the doctor ordered and that's who he'll be tonight.
"We don't talk about it," Beckett said suddenly. He cocked his head at her, his silence urging her to continue. "The reason why you're here, I mean. We don't bring it up unless I feel like it, we watch a movie, maybe tell a few childhood stories, make each other laugh. That's what girlfriends do."
"Right."
"And second choice or not, you gotta abide by those rules, okay?"
"Aye, aye, Captain!"
She grinned at him then, a full blown smile that had her eyes crinkling in mirth. She pushed the tub of ice-cream so that it sat in the middle of the both of them and offered her spoon to him.
"And we drown ourselves in ice cream until we're lying in the hospital in a sugar induced coma."
He laughed as she did and she scooted closer, her thigh barely brushing against his under the table.
"Thank you, Castle. For this. For everything," she said after a few minutes of companionable silence. Her voice was thick with emotion and for a second, all he wanted to do was pull her into a hug and cradle her till she felt okay again. But that wasn't the kind of relationship they had. As much as he hated it, their relationship was a very hands-off one so he did the only thing he knew for a fact he could do.
"Need to tell you something, Beckett."
"Yeah?"
He leaned in towards her conspiratorially, widened his eyes as if he was preparing to tell her one of the world's greatest secrets and moved to whisper in her ear.
"Boys are really stupid."
He made her laugh.
00000