Reborn in Castle (TV show)

Morning arrived with all the mercy of a police siren inside Kate Beckett's skull.

She groaned and pressed one hand against her forehead, immediately regretting the movement when pain throbbed behind her eyes. Her mouth felt dry, her limbs felt heavy, and for a few seconds she had no idea why her bedroom ceiling looked personally disappointed in her.

Then pieces of last night started crawling back into place. They had watched a movie, argued about Ripley surviving half their cases, somehow ended up debating Batman, Punisher, and Gotham villains, and eventually wandered into a discussion about Wolverine's anger issues.

Then came the drinks.

Kate closed her eyes harder as if that could stop the memories from loading.

There had been a challenge. She remembered that much. Something stupid about who could handle more shots without making a face. Travis had been far too smug. She had been far too confident. The dangerous combination of exhaustion, wine, and competitive pride had taken the wheel from there.

As far as she could remember, she had won.

Then…

Kate's eyes snapped open.

"Oh no," she whispered.

The memory hit her with horrifying clarity.

She pushed Travis down onto the floor and kissed him passionately. The details afterward remained blurry, but she either passed out mid-kiss or became too drunk to remember what happened next.

Kate sat up too fast and immediately grabbed her head with both hands as the room tilted. "Fantastic," she muttered under her breath. "Really graceful, Beckett."

She looked down at herself quickly, her heart climbing into her throat before common sense had a chance to catch up because she thought they might have had sex last night. She was wearing the same night pajamas from last night. The loose gray shirt. The soft pants. Everything exactly where it should have been.

Kate let herself fall back against the pillows with a heavy sigh, one arm thrown across her eyes.

"Okay," she breathed out slowly. "Okay. I'm not naked."

Relief washed through her first. Unfortunately, it lasted only long enough for the memory of kissing Travis to return.

She had kissed him.

She had kissed Travis Wilson after one date, one movie, several drinks, and a conversation about whether Wolverine needed a therapist or just better friends.

Kate dragged both hands down her face.

A quiet clink came from outside the bedroom, followed by the soft sound of a cabinet door closing. Kate slowly lowered her hands and stared toward the doorway.

Travis was still here.

She sat up carefully this time, moving like a woman defusing herself. Her bare feet touched the floor, and she noticed a glass of water on the nightstand beside two painkillers and a folded piece of paper.

She picked up the note.

<Drink the water. Take the pills. You won the drinking challenge and lost the landing.>

Kate looked at the note for a second.

Then, she laughed quietly.

"Argg! Just how much did we drink?"

The laugh hurt her head. She took the pills and drank half the glass before standing. Her legs felt a little unsteady, though pride forced her to walk normally as she opened the bedroom door.

The smell of coffee greeted her first. 'Ahhh Coffee'

Travis stood in her kitchen wearing yesterday's blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, looking annoyingly awake for a man who had been part of the same bad decisions. His jacket was draped over one of the chairs. A pan sat on the stove, and two mugs waited on the counter.

He looked over his shoulder when she stepped in.

"Morning," he said. "Detective."

Kate leaned against the doorway and narrowed her eyes. "How are you alive right now?"

Travis lifted one brow as he poured coffee into the mugs. "Superior genetics and emotional resilience."

"You drank too."

"I drank less after you started calling the Xenomorph a misunderstood workplace hazard."

Kate closed her eyes briefly. "Please tell me I didn't say that."

"You said it with conviction." He slid one mug across the counter toward her. "You also accused me of being anti-alien because I questioned its murder strategy."

Kate walked over slowly and took the coffee with both hands. "I hate everything about this conversation."

"That's the hangover talking."

"No," she said after taking a careful sip. "That is Detective Beckett conducting damage assessment."

Travis turned back to the stove, and she noticed he had made butter toast, eggs, and the food smelled really good for something so simple. That somehow made the embarrassment worse, because responsible morning Travis was harder to glare at than smug gym Travis.

Kate watched him for a few seconds before forcing herself to ask the question sitting between them.

"So," she began, keeping her tone as normal as possible, "about last night."

Travis turned the stove off, then faced her with the calm expression of a man stepping into an interrogation room voluntarily.

Kate tightened her fingers around the mug. "How bad was it?"

His mouth twitched. "Depends which part."

"Wilson."

"Right." He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. "After the challenge, you yelled, I quote: 'NOW WHO'S THE LOSER, WILSON?', then you stood up too quickly, blamed gravity for being unfair after you nearly slipped, then kissed me before falling asleep halfway through."

Kate looked at him.

He nodded solemnly. "It was a bold strategy."

Kate closed her eyes and held the mug closer to her chest like the coffee might somehow defend her from the consequences of her own decisions. "I fell asleep while kissing you?"

Travis gave her a nod, though the corner of his mouth kept trying to betray him. "Technically, you started strong and trust me it was a very confident opening move. Even I was surprised. Then the performance declined sharply."

Kate sighed. "I hate that you sound like you're reviewing a boxing match."

"I'm trying to be respectful."

"You're trying not to laugh."

"I'm multitasking."

She groaned and turned away from him, walking toward the small dining table. The painkillers were beginning to soften the drumline behind her eyes. "Please tell me I didn't say anything else."

Travis plated the eggs and toast. "That depends on whether you want the truth or something that lets you keep eye contact with me for the rest of the morning."

Kate slowly sat down and pointed at him with her mug. "Wilson, I carry a gun for a living."

He carried both plates over and set one in front of her before taking the chair across from her. He picked up his fork and looked at her.

"After I carried you to bed," he said, cutting into the eggs, "you wrapped both arms around my neck and told me I looked very sexy."

Kate froze with the coffee mug halfway to her mouth.

Travis continued before she could recover. "Then you praised my strong jawline with surprising detail. I think you used the word unfair at least twice before you fell asleep."

Kate slowly lowered the mug to the table, while keeping an eye on his expression.

He took a bite of toast and nodded with complete seriousness. "Thanks for the compliment, by the way, even though you were drunk."

Kate closed her eyes for a second and took another deep breath. When she opened them again, she looked far too calm for the situation. "Huh? Are you sure I didn't say that you're really annoying?"

"Nope. I'm pretty sure you called me sexy."

"Are you sure it wasn't 'annoying'? I mean, you were drunk too. So, you probably misheard."

"Nah, I'm a hundred percent sure you said 'sexy'."

Kate leaned back in her chair and held the mug closer to her chest. The coffee mug was warm against her fingers. "Okay. Whatever happened yesterday does not leave this room."

Travis lifted both hands slightly, fork still between his fingers. "Which part? The drinking challenge, the alien debate, the floor kiss, the neck grab, or the jawline testimony?"

"All of it," Kate said right away. Her voice was calm, which made it sound more threatening than shouting. "Every word, movement, and embarrassing detail will stay inside this apartment forever."

He pretended to think for a while before saying, "I don't know. I ain't very good at keeping secrets."

"Ha-Ha, very funny. I'll shoot you," Kate said with a smile before taking a sip of her coffee. "Haaa... What do you want?"

"Another date, of course," Travis said casually.

Kate laughed immediately. Then she said, "That isn't going to happen."

Travis looked genuinely surprised as he cut another piece of toast. "Why?" he asked. "Afraid you can't keep your hands off me?"

Kate nearly rolled her eyes hard enough to injure herself.

"You wish."

"I do, actually."

The answer came so quickly that Kate pointed her fork at him.

"See? That right there. That's exactly why there won't be another date."

Travis nodded thoughtfully, as if he were taking mental notes.

"Fair criticism."

"It wasn't criticism."

"Then what was it?"

"A statement."

Travis took a sip of coffee before setting the mug down. "That's unfortunate."

Kate narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

A slow grin appeared on his face.

"Because I was planning to take you to the Nebula 9 premiere next week."

Kate froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. For a second, she thought she had misheard him. "Nebula 9 premiere?" She asked.

Travis leaned back slightly, clearly enjoying her reaction.

"Yep."

Kate stared at him.

Nebula 9.

The revived franchise.

The franchise she had watched growing up, defended against terrible criticism, and waited months to see return to the screen. Ever since news broke that they were bringing it back with a new movie, she had been trying to get her hands on premium tickets. Every ticket had sold out before she could even reach the checkout page.

"The early premiere?" she asked.

Travis kept his expression calm, which immediately made him look more suspicious.

"VIP seats and first screening."

Kate narrowed her eyebrows.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"You're absolutely lying."

"I can show you the tickets."

That shut her up for half a second.

Travis watched her reaction with growing satisfaction, then added the final blow with the kind of casual cruelty only a man holding rare tickets could afford. "Well, since you don't want another date, I guess I'll give them to Ryan."

Kate's expression changed so fast that Travis almost laughed right there.

"Don't even think about it, Wilson."

He lifted both hands in surrender, though the grin on his face completely ruined the gesture.

"What? Ryan might enjoy it."

"Ryan does not get my Nebula 9 ticket."

"Your ticket?"

Kate pointed at him across the table.

"Yes. My ticket."

Travis tilted his head slightly, looking pleased enough to be dangerous before breakfast. "That's interesting. A minute ago, there wasn't going to be another date."

Kate opened her mouth, then closed it again.

The problem was that he had her cornered, and he knew it. Her pride wanted to reject the setup purely out of principle, while the part of her that had watched every Nebula 9 trailer more times than she would ever admit had already grabbed the ticket with both hands and locked it in a vault.

She picked up her fork and aimed it at him like a weapon.

"You planned this."

"I bought the tickets weeks ago."

"You knew I liked Nebula 9."

"I had a strong suspicion."

"That means you planned this."

Travis took a bite of toast and looked far too satisfied with himself.

"I prefer calling it preparation."

Kate let out a quiet laugh despite herself and shook her head. The motion made her head throb again, though even that could not fully erase the reluctant smile tugging at her mouth.

"You are impossible."

"I've heard that before."

"I'm serious."

"So am I," he replied, softer this time. "Movie premiere, VIP seats, dinner and hopefully no drinking challenge afterward."

Kate looked at him for a few seconds, trying very hard to keep her face neutral. It did not work. The smile won before she could stop it.

"Seven o'clock next Friday?" he asked.

She took another sip of coffee, letting him wait because he deserved at least that much.

Finally, she lowered the mug and gave him a pointed look.

"If those tickets are fake, I'm throwing you through a wall."

His grin widened.

"So that's a yes?"

Kate nodded, "Yes."

--

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