Reborn in Castle (TV show)

Castle stared at Esposito like he had personally betrayed literature, friendship, and the very concept of good lighting.

"Vintage charm?" He repeated, his voice dropping into something dangerously calm. "That is what antique furniture has when people are trying to justify keeping it after the legs start wobbling."

Ryan pressed his lips together, clearly fighting a laugh. "Nobody said your legs were wobbling."

"You implied it," Castle said, pointing at him. "There was implication in your tone."

Esposito took another sip of beer, looking far too relaxed for a man who had just started a psychological fire. "Relax, bro. Vintage is classy."

Castle looked between them, then toward the booth again before turning away.

Ryan leaned closer. "You okay there?"

Castle snapped his attention back to them and straightened on the stool. "Why wouldn't I be? It's not like Beckett, and I have a thing going on or anything. She can date whoever she wants. I was just curious since I haven't seen Beckett date anyone."

Esposito gave a slow nod. "Sure."

Castle narrowed his eyes. "That sure had layers."

"It was a very simple sure," Espo replied, raising both hands slightly.

Ryan nodded with mock seriousness.

Castle looked offended by both of them. "You two are terrible friends."

"We're coworkers," Ryan corrected.

"That makes it worse," Castle said as he slid off the stool and adjusted his jacket with as much dignity as a wounded man could gather in public. "I am leaving before this room damages my self-esteem any further."

Esposito lifted his beer. "Night, Castle."

Ryan gave him a cheerful little wave. "Moisturize when you get home."

Castle froze halfway through turning around.

He slowly looked back at Ryan.

Ryan kept his face innocent.

Castle pointed at him once, like he was filing the comment away for future revenge, then turned and headed for the door. As he passed the booth, Kate glanced up at him.

"Leaving already?" she asked.

Castle smiled too brightly. "Places to be, pages to write, youthful glow to preserve. Important evening."

Travis looked up from his drink with mild interest. "Youthful glow?"

Castle gave him a tight smile. "Enjoy your bar, Wilson."

"I do," Travis replied easily.

Castle's smile strained by one more degree before he walked out into the rain. The door closed behind him, and silence lasted for barely two seconds before Ryan and Esposito both started laughing at the counter.

Kate watched the door for a moment, then turned back toward Travis. "What was that about?"

Travis glanced at Ryan and Espo, then back at her with a small grin. "No idea. Probably writer stuff. Or, those two must've lit a fire under him, and now, he's having some existential crisis."

Across the room, Esposito leaned toward Ryan and muttered, "He's absolutely buying face cream tonight."

Ryan nodded with certainty. "Expensive face cream."

...

[Next Morning] [Castle's Penthouse]

Castle walked into the kitchen area wearing a navy silk robe over pajama pants, and a thick layer of pale green cream spread across his face from forehead to chin. Only his eyes, lips, and nostrils had been spared. The result made him look less like a bestselling author and more like an expensive swamp creature with excellent posture.

Alexis sat at the table with a bowl of cereal and a textbook open beside her. She looked up, blinked once, then slowly lowered her spoon.

Martha, sitting near the kitchen counter with coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other, glanced over the rim of her glasses. She took in the robe, the cream, the careful way he held his face still, and immediately smiled with the kind of delight only a mother could feel when presented with fresh ammunition.

"Oh, darling," Martha said warmly, "did the spa finally start offering treatments for wounded ego?"

Castle stopped mid-step and gave her a wounded look, though the mask made it difficult to tell whether he was offended or simply afraid to move his eyebrows. "This," he said with great dignity, "is a restorative mineral detoxifying mask imported from Switzerland."

Alexis tilted her head, studying him with academic seriousness. "Are you sure it's not guacamole?"

Castle pointed at her carefully. "Mockery ages the soul, Alexis. Remember that."

She looked down at her cereal, then back at him. "So does stress, apparently."

Martha made a soft sound into her coffee that was definitely not a cough.

Castle narrowed his eyes at both of them before crossing to the coffee machine. He poured himself a cup with the solemn focus of a man trying to survive emotional betrayal before nine in the morning. "You two laugh now," he said, lifting the mug. "But one day, when I still possess the luminous skin of a man ten years younger than his driver's license, you'll understand."

Alexis quickly flipped through the pages of her textbook like she had suddenly remembered something important. A moment later, she pulled out a folded sheet of paper tucked between two chapters and held it up in front of him.

Castle's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And what might this be?"

Alexis smiled in a way that immediately made him more suspicious. "School trip. I need your signature."

Martha lowered her newspaper just enough to watch properly. "Ah, the ancient parental ambush. I do love breakfast theatre."

Castle put down his coffee and took the paper from Alexis, unsure about it, as if she had given him a secret file instead of a permission slip. He opened it. "A school trip," he said again. "Those words sound innocent and educational when said quickly." He looked at the paper. "And where is this trip going?"

Alexis was about to answer, but before she could get the first word out, Castle's phone rang on the counter.

The change in him was instant.

He looked at the screen, saw Beckett's name, and all traces of wounded vanity disappeared. Even the ridiculous green mask could not ruin the way his whole face brightened. He grabbed the phone so fast that Alexis leaned back slightly to avoid the sleeve of his robe.

"Beckett," he answered, far too eagerly for a man pretending he had not spent the previous night spiraling over wrinkles.

Alexis and Martha exchanged one look.

Castle turned slightly away from them, already walking toward the living room as if privacy would somehow make him sound less excited. He was still holding the form in his left hand. "Yes. I'm awake. Of course I'm awake. Writers are famously early risers when summoned by homicide." He paused, listening, and his expression shifted from theatrical cheer into focused interest. "A body where?"

Martha lifted both eyebrows.

Castle held up one finger toward them, even though neither of them had spoken. He listened for a few more seconds, then straightened. "Yes, I can be there in twenty minutes."

Alexis watched him glance down at his robe, pajama pants, and bare feet.

"Thirty," he corrected quickly.

He cut the call and held the form in the air. "I'll read this properly before signing." Then, he rushed to his room.

...

[Meanwhile...] [Construction Site 12th Ashford Street]

The forensic team was already on the site. Yellow tape covered a big chunk of that construction site. Reporters were swarming outside the police barrier as usual. The uniforms were on standby.

Kate and Travis arrived at the scene first. They walked over to Lanie, who was standing before a female head and writing the details in her notebook.

"So, what have we got?" Kate asked.

Lanie turned around and replied, "We've found four heads, and their bodies are missing."

Her eyes went toward Travis, and the memories of their time together flashed before her eyes. He cared for her and wanted to move beyond their casual hookup, which Lanie referred to as "booty calls." But she loved what they had: casual dates and lots of sex. She loved his stamina and the way he ate her and made her squirt almost every night. Well, Travis tried to have that relationship talk once more, but she said no. So, they eventually stopped seeing each other outside the job.

Now, things have changed in the last few months. Lanie started to notice that Travis and Kate were spending quality time together. They flirt and tease each other, and somehow that made her uncomfortable... maybe a little jealous. She couldn't point out why she was feeling this way because she rejected him twice. She told herself she doesn't want anything serious, yet watching those two flirt and laugh every day... Lanie was having second thoughts.

"Any ID?" Travis asked in a professional tone.

Since they stopped seeing each other, Travis no longer looked at her the way he used to. Before, his gaze made her heart race, but now he was all professional. She hated it. She loved the way he used to look at her.

'Haaa... I messed up big time,' Lanie thought as she pushed her personal thoughts and feelings back into her head and decided to focus on the task at hand.

---

Find me in the link below for advance chapters: https://unknownmaster.carrd.co/

[20 advance chs] + [Modern Family: 23 chs Early access]