36The first in a series of very short scenes that I've been jotting down over the summer that show aspects Castle and Beckett's new relationship as dreamed up by me. I was starting to accumulate quite a collection and had no story to put them in. Instead of leaving them in a folder to gather metaphorical dust, I decided to publish them as a small series. I'll be editing and posting over the next few months. They're all pretty short but fun to write and hopefully, fun to read!
At the first ring from his phone, his eyes open and he throws his arm blindly towards the sound. His hand pats around until he finds what he's looking for. He clears the sleep from his throat and answers. "Castle."
"Hey." Her voice is soft and makes his chest throb with familiar disbelief that her words are for him. "You awake?"
He curls back into his pillow. "Must've been close. Still in bed though." He can hear her moving around on the other end of the line, up and getting ready for the day already. He hears fabric slip by the phone and he can almost see the shirt sliding onto her shoulders. The sweep of her hand pulling the hair from her collar.
She repositions the phone. "Mm. Sleep well?"
He stretches lazily, his arm extending over the empty spot next to him palm flat against the cool sheets. "Lonely."
She laughs. "Yeah, yeah."
His mouth turns up in a smile. "You?"
"Same." His grin widens. She clears her throat and he can almost see the futile attempt on her part to wipe away the hopelessly smitten look from her face. "So, you and Alexis have a good night?"
"Yeah, yeah we did actually. First weekend home from college and she came back to me in one piece. Still my little girl."
"You wouldn't let her out of your sight all night, would you?"
He sighs. "'Not a chance. I've turned into such a hoverer."
"Aw, you've always been a hoverer Castle."
He grunts out a laugh at that. "Hey, now."
"Well, I think it's probably pretty normal seeing as it was her first night back. You'll get used to her not being around all the time."
"That's the problem, I don't want to get used to that."
He hears the familiar slide of her service piece, knows she's checking the chamber. The last step before she leaves in the morning.
"You have a case?"
"I do. Are you hanging with Alexis today?"
"No." He sticks his lip out in a pout and his voice reflects it. "She has to head back to the dorms to study pretty early this morning."
"At least you had last night, right? If she had gone to Stanford, you may not have even gotten that."
"Don't remind me."
"She came back to see you after only a week away. You should be happy, Castle."
He's not willing to part with his petulance just yet. "Yeah, I guess."
"Okay, well what are you going to do today then?"
"Can I tag along with you?"
She smirks. "When exactly did you start asking for my permission?"
"I'm trying to work on my hoverer tendencies."
"Well I guess I can have a little sympathy for you seeing as you're clearly suffering from a pretty nasty case of empty nest syndrome."
"Aw, don't call it that. Makes me feel old."
She laughs. "So you coming or are you going to stay in bed all day and pout?"
He burrows deeper in his down comforter almost comically dwarfed by the bedding around him. "Staying in bed all day doesn't sound so bad right about now."
"Alright, well I'm going to go check out this body that was found in the wax museum. I guess I'll call you later."
His eyes light up. "Wax museum?"
"Uh huh. Been there for a while apparently and no one noticed. But hey, if you wanna stay in bed all day I totally understand."
He pushes the comforter off of him, quickly sitting up, all traces the pout cleared from his voice. "No one noticed?"
"Yeah. Pretty hard to believe seeing as it was right there under everyones noses. But if you aren't interested-"
He's off the bed quickly, stumbling a bit before he finds his balance. He hears her laughing in his ear. "I'm up, I'm up! I'm interested. Definitely interested."
She laughs. "Uh huh, I thought so."
He wedges the phone on his shoulder as he strips and grabs a towel, speedily working towards the bathroom. "Give me half an hour."
"Hey, Castle?"
He turns on the shower, gauging the spray's temperature with his free hand. "Yeah?"
"Don't forget my coffee this time."
He smiles as the line goes dead, tossing the phone on the counter. "Wouldn't dream of it."