[ late night at the precinct ]

[fanofthegenre]

Long nights of paperwork are nothing new for Beckett.

Spending the dull hours of the evening filing away even duller paperwork is a routine she's grown accustomed to; the life of a detective isn't always preoccupied with chasing down a suspect or interrogating a guilty party. Sometimes, there's the moments that aren't always worth writing about, the files she somehow manages to let pile up while she's doing the more exciting parts of her job. It's a vicious cycle, the way the tedious work tends to sneak up on her when she's least expecting it.

Every now and then, her eyes flick to the clock, tracking the time, gauging how many hours she has left to finish what she's working on before she'll be getting absolutely no sleep at all. She's the only one here, apart from the night guard working the desk downstairs, and every now and then she stops to stretch, or to refresh her coffee after fiddling with some of the dials on the espresso machine - the machine that nearly requires a PhD from Starbucks to know how to use.

Sitting back down again at her desk, she rolls her shoulders and then her neck, settling in to wrap up a few last-minute details on the open file in front of her.

Comments

[fanofthegenre]

"Lots and lots of crunches," is her reply, delivered with a sated version of her trademark smirk, and she's perfectly content to lay there until she feels the energy come back to her arms and legs, gently tilting her head into Castle's hand as it grazes her face.

She might be asleep before the energy-regaining part happens.

[bestsellingego.livejournal.com]

"Hn." He still doesn't sound entirely convinced. 'Puts his lips beneath her ear. "I'm going to clean up," he says, "stay right here." He slides to the edge of the mattress and steels himself for a couple of seconds before getting to his feet, trying to keep as much distance as he can between himself and the cold floorboards.

He doesn't bother turning on the light in the bathroom, but he has to wait in the dark while the water in the sink heats up. While he waits he catches his reflection in the mirror above the basin; moonlight and shadow throw strange shapes across his cheeks. He's smiling.

When he returns, he makes a beeline dive for the bed, tossing the covers up over them both. "Your apartment is fuh-huh-huh-reezing. I think I ran into the remainder of Shackelton's lost crew out in the hallway." He pushes his chilly hands between her thighs to warm them.

[fanofthegenre]

While he darts into the bathroom, Beckett stays prone, stretching her relaxed muscles and resting the back of her hand against her mouth, absently pulling one finger in between her teeth. She hides her grin despite the fact there's no one there to see it, turning her head in the direction of the bedroom door as the sound of creaking floorboards announce Castle's return before he appears.

"It's why I gave you an extra blanket," she points out, "which you proceeded to kick off. Then again, I rarely sleep in the nude - one more thing Nikki Heat and I do not have in common."

She protests with a cry when he jams his cold fingers in between her legs, weakly attempting to shove him away. Catching a glimpse of the time on the bedside table clock, she lets her head fall against the pillow, groaning.

"Work's going to be murder tomorrow. Pun not intended."

[bestsellingego.livejournal.com]

Castle makes a face when she tries to out-rationalize him, rubbing his palms together for warmth. "Ah yes," he says, dropping back onto the pillow with a wily smirk. "The whole 'did they arrive in the same cab?' thing. Don't worry, I'll clean any lipstick off my collar before coming within one hundred yards of Esposito and Ryan."

He reaches out and cups her hip underneath his palm, reeling her in toward his chest. "Unless you were talking about how it's really late and that you've got to get up in a couple of hours and save the city from its own damning iniquity," he amends, nuzzling beneath the drape of hair at the back of her neck. "In which case --" he reaches blindly for the clock and turns it to face the window.

[fanofthegenre]

"Mostly the second," Beckett admits, nestling deeper into her pillow as she reaches back to grab hold of Castle's hand, pulling his arm over to sling low across her hip - but not before she catches him turning the clock away.

"Richard Castle," she pretends to scold, swiveling back to face him as she slides a hand under her cheek. "Are you trying to tell me I should cash in on one of the many sick days I've never bothered to use?"

[bestsellingego.livejournal.com]

The back of her neck, just beneath her ear, is now his favourite spot on her. He pushes his lips there now, dragging the fleshy earlobe between his teeth as his fingers curl over hers.

"I could always call in a favour with the principal."

'Never above using his friendship with the mayor when it comes in handy.

[fanofthegenre]

Relaxation is quickly giving way to exhaustion, but not before she allows herself a tiny shudder when his mouth presses below her ear and she draws in against him that much closer - if asked, she can always use the need to stay warm as an excuse.

"I'll call in tomorrow morning. 'Sides, if there's a new body for them to find, chances are it won't be until nighttime, anyway."

And if not, all she's got waiting for her back at the precinct are more files.

Suddenly, spending a morning in bed with Castle is looking very appealing.