Castle 1. You and I

You and I - Lady Gaga

_Sit back down where you belong/ in the corner of my bar with your high heels on_

Castle had only owned The Old Haunt for a few weeks, and he had kept it off of twitter and his official website. He wanted the bar to stay a special place. Plus, he liked having his friends from the 12th come by. Ryan and Esposito had started to drop at least two nights a week, favoring it over their favorite cop bar sometimes. But his favorite times were when Beckett came by. She would sit at a booth in the corner and they would casually flirt over glasses of Castle's favorite scotch. Surprisingly, she had been coming more and more often in the last week.

When she appeared in the door earlier tonight, it was official: she had been there every night this week. Castle just smiled to himself and came out from behind the bar.

"Beckett! What a wonderful surprise!"

She turned around, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Hey Castle."

He held his arm out. "May I escort you to your favorite spot?"

He didn't expect her to take his arm. Maybe laugh, and make some comment about how she could walk on her own. But she took it. He led her to the booth in the back corner, turning his head slightly to smell her cherry shampoo. In her 4-inch stiletto heels, she was just his height.

They arrived at the back of the bar, and Beckett slid into the booth. Her warm green eyes invited him to slide in next to her, and he obliged. He motioned to his favorite barman, and he young man quickly brought over two glasses of scotch. Castle clinked his glass against Beckett's and she bit her lip. They both took a sip, not breaking eye contact.

Castle felt a nudge under the table, and when he looked down he saw the toe of Beckett's boot drifting away from his shin. He took it as a mistake, but when it happened again a few minutes later, he knew it was no accident. He grinned and jumped up from the booth, waking back to bar counter. Kate was more than confused as she watched Castle fumble with his iPhone, plugging in into the speakers.

She laughed in realization when she heard Piano Man. Castle walked back over to the booth and held out his hand.

"Dance with me, Detective?"

Kate laughed and got up, taking Castle's hand. Much to his surprise, she put her hands on his shoulders and didn't protest when he put his hands on her waist.

"It's not exactly a song you can dance to, Castle."

"You can dance to anything if you try, Beckett."

She smiled and let Castle spin her around the bar floor. The few other patrons in the bar barely noticed them as they looked into each other's eyes and attempted to dance to the Billy Joel classic. When the song ended, Castle led Beckett back to the booth. He was on his way back from the bar, where he had changed the music again, when he saw it. Beckett was absentmindedly tracing a maraschino cherry over her lips, relaxing into the booth. Castle smiled in spite of himself and slid into the booth, taking a cherry from the small crystal bowl on the table. He looked at Kate appreciatively with a grin on his face.

She realized Castle was watching her and looked up. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…. You just fit in here so well; it's like you belong here. In my bar, drinking scotch and laughing in that beautiful way you do."

Beckett popped the cherry in her mouth and looked at him for a few second while she chewed. Her detective training had made her vey good at not letting her facial expression betray her and show what she was thinking. He hated that she was so good at that.

She leaned in a bit closer to him, and he could smell the cherries. Kate raised her hand to Castle's cheek and stroked it. Her lips touched his in a soft, tender kiss. The kiss became deeper as he tangled his fingers in her hair. She moaned softly. When they broke apart, he took both her hands in his and opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it.

"I do belong here. With you, in your arms."

Castle couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But what about…"

"Josh and I broke up," she said simply, as if it had been a mutual thing, no big deal. But the tiniest glimmer in her eyes revealed that it had been for him. It had always been him.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her again. The taste of cherries lingered on her lips.


	2. Don't Let Her Fall

This one is super short! But I couldn't think of a way to make it longer. Song is 'Don't Let Her Fall' by Patrick Rock. Please review and enjoy!

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><p><em>"Please, lord, don't let her fall in love while I'm away Please, lord, don't let her fall"_

Rick Castle was an optimistic man. Beckett may have turned down his offer to come to the Hamptons, but she would eventually come around. Maybe not this year, maybe not for a while. He didn't care when, he just knew he would wait for her. For as long as it took.

If only that Schlemming wasn't in the equation. He made everything more complicated. When it came to Beckett, it was hard enough impressing her. He didn't need Demming stealing his thunder. Castle was the one who had been with Beckett for a year, hanging on every word she said, trying to make himself valuable. With Demming around, Castle didn't feel very valuable. He felt unneeded.

Did Beckett want him to leave? He hoped the answer was no. All he wanted was to tell her, to tell her how he felt. But he wasn't a jerk. He wasn't going to do it while she was dating Demming. Castle was a good guy. Patience wasn't his strong suit, but for Kate Beckett, he could do anything.

_Please_, he prayed as he approached the corner on his walk to the breakroom. _Please don't let her fall in love while I'm away._ He had a plan: go to the Hamptons, finish Naked Heat, come back in the fall, and woo Beckett with his boyish charm. If he was lucky, she and Demming might not even make it off the ground. They could be broken up by the end of Memorial Day Weekend.

Castle turned the corner just in time to see Demming and Kate's lips touch. His heart sank until it hit his expensive Italian leather shoes and he quietly walked back around the corner. He silently reassured himself that a kiss didn't mean anything. It didn't mean he had lost her.

Not yet, anyway.

He exhaled with frustration, then pulled out his cell phone, scrolling through his contacts. He was not going to spend this weekend, or the summer for that matter, alone. Kate had made her choice, and he wasn't it. He finally found the number he wanted and walked to elevators as the line rang.

"Gina? Hey, it's Rick. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something…."


	3. Just A Kiss

Just a Kiss - Lady Antebellum. Again, waaay too short. But I'm not as pro as some of the amazing people on here, I can't make a 2 minute scene last 2,000 words. Please give me your feedback! :)

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><p>"<em>Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight, just a tough of the fire burning so bright No, I don't want to mess this thing up, I don't want to push too far"_

"He's not buying it, Castle," Beckett giggled in her fake-drunk voice. His heart sank. He had a feeling this whole drunken-giggles thing wouldn't work. But he didn't have another plan. Except… No. He couldn't. Those were their friends in there, and now was not the time to let his emotions control him. He needed to focus. But Kate reached for her gun and left him no choice.

He grabbed her wrist to stop her from taking out her gun with one had, and put his other hand on the side of her face. He thought about it for only a second before leaning in and kissing her. It was a quick kiss, but when they parted the look on Beckett's face suggested it had been too quick.

She drew her face back towards his and they kissed again. This time it erupted with passion and urgency. She moaned softly, and he just kissed her harder. Inside, Castle's emotions were exploding. _Am I really making out with Kate Beckett?_, he thought. _Am I holding her in my arms and slowly losing my grip on reality? Yes._

All then all of the sudden, it ended. She spun him around, broke away, and knocked the guard to the ground. They were both panting slightly, and he let a thought slip out of his mouth.

"That was amazing."

Beckett looked at him, unsure of what to say. Castle made a lame attempt to save it. "The way you knocked him out, I mean, it was…"

He trailed off and nodded his head towards the guy on the ground. Her face remained neutral, a little breathless.

"Let's go...…yeah," she said, turning around and walking towards the building. She didn't know what to do about the events of the past 2 minutes any more than he did. The second her back was turned to Castle, he gasped and felt his lips. _Oh my god._ Castle ran after her, thinking, _If we hadn't stopped,_ _would I have pushed it way too far?_


End file.

Castle, Friendship, Romance