OOM: Beckett's Room

[trigger_man]

 [After this.]

Jack makes a quick pit stop in his room to change into dry clothes, already feeling the burn on his skin as it warms up again.

Heading back out into the hall, he hesitates for a second outside Beckett's door.  After the awkwardness of him falling on top of her--and neither of them moving for a moment--this might not be the best idea.  But then he'd told her he'd be there in a moment, as as much as part of him has misgivings about it, there's part of him that wants to show that whatever that moment outside had been, it was just an aberration; nothing to see here, move along.

Taking a breath, he raps decisively on her door.

Comments

[fanofthegenre]

Beckett's jeans are sufficiently soaked, and there's a giant wet spot in the middle of her jacket, both of which she hangs up in the hopes that they'll dry before she has to head back. Bar's even seen fit to reward her with a roaring fire after she changes - even if she's not entirely sure how a fire works in this place, being that there's technically no chimney attached.

She decides not to question it, and moves to open the door, stepping aside to let Jack through.

"I was just about to make something hot. What are you in the mood for?"

[trigger_man]

Jack shrugs, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Whatever you're having. I'm not picky, as long as it'll warm me up."

[fanofthegenre]

"Alright, then. Cocoa it is."

She moves to the stovetop, getting out the saucepan and the right ingredients.

"There's really only one way to make good hot chocolate."

[trigger_man]

"And that is?" Jack asks, following her. He's never been that great in the kitchen; any time it got cool enough for Kim to want hot cocoa, he'd made it from a pre-measured pouch. Usually the kind with little dried marshmallows in it. Teri used to get creative with whipped cream shapes on top--

Leaning against the counter a few feet from Beckett, Jack forces the memories away and focuses on what she's doing.

[fanofthegenre]

"I'd call it a secret, but you're going to end up watching me anyway," she admits, turning up one of the burners and pouring some milk and Hershey's syrup into the pan.

The burner gets hot after a while, Beckett occasionally stirring, and she finds herself moving toward it, seeking that heat in more of an attempt to warm up.

[trigger_man]

"Somehow I don't think milk and syrup is much of a secret," Jack says.

[fanofthegenre]

"Okay, Mr. Skeptical," Beckett teases, giving him a sidelong look.

"Just don't come begging me for the recipe when your taste buds are blown away."

[trigger_man]

"I'll believe it when I see it. Besides, I don't usually have much call to make hot chocolate."

[fanofthegenre]

"Leave it to me to enlighten you."

She grabs two mugs and fills both of them with steaming chocolatey goodness before passing one to him and rinsing the saucepan out in the sink. It's only a few steps to the couch in front of the fire, where she sits, drawing her legs up underneath her and cupping her warm mug in between both hands.

"Sit down."

[trigger_man]

"Yes, ma'am," Jack says, taking a seat at the other end of the couch. At the moment he doesn't really care what the hot chocolate tastes like; it's bringing some much-needed warmth back into his fingers.

He takes a sip, not really noticing the taste as it's hot enough to scald his tongue.

[fanofthegenre]

Beckett blows across the surface of the cocoa to cool it, watching him with some amusement.

"You trying to burn yourself?" she teases.

[trigger_man]

"Didn't realize your special recipe was actually for chocolate napalm," Jack says, wry. He blows across the top of his hot chocolate for a moment, sucking air in through his pursed lips to cool his tongue.

"How've you been?" he asks while he waits for his drink to cool and his tongue to stop stinging.

[fanofthegenre]

She smirks, but doesn't attempt a comeback to that one. Any further scalding at this point is beyond her responsibility.

"Good," she admits. "Despite the occasional intervention from top-secret government agencies, or the recently escaped Triple Killer. Oh, did I tell you Castle bought a bar?"

[trigger_man]

"Wait a minute, what's this about a Triple Killer?" Jack asks, forehead creasing.

[fanofthegenre]

"Remember? The guy who liked his blondes in groups of three, and finished things off by tying up Castle and beating Ryan over the head before slipping right through our fingers." Beckett's grip tightens around the mug at the memory of frustration, revisiting it now.

[trigger_man]

"Not about to forget that any time soon," Jack says, his tone and expression a little grim. "You didn't mention the nickname at the time, though. So what's this about Castle buying a bar? He giving up the writing, or just have a new hobby?"

[fanofthegenre]

"Well, now we have a name and a face to attach to it," she mutters, looking down into the contents of her mug for a moment.

"It was an active crime scene up until recently. Let's just say the previous owner vacated the position suddenly."

[trigger_man]

"Was murdered, in other words," Jack says, skipping the euphemisms. "Did Castle's experience with the killer bring on some kind of mid-life crisis?"

[fanofthegenre]

"I think he just couldn't bear to let the place go under after making so many memories there as a writer in his early days," Beckett admits.

Getting to see photos of Castle the younger had definitely been worth it.

[trigger_man]

"How old's the bar?" Jack asks.

[fanofthegenre]

"It's been around since Prohibition-era, at least. Probably longer, judging by the looks of those secret tunnels."

She lifts her mug to her lips to test out the temperature of the cocoa - now perfect for drinking without fear of first-degree burns.

[trigger_man]

Jack's eyebrows shoot up. "Secret tunnels?"

A large part of him is interested because it's just, well, cool. Of course there's another part--the suspicious, paranoid bastard part--that starts wondering about the security implications of that.

[fanofthegenre]

"Which will have to be filled in, of course. But, knowing Castle, he'll probably put that off for about a week or so until he has a chance to explore them all for himself. Now that we're not actively chasing a suspect down there anymore."

She tries to hide a smile, but the look on his face is too priceless.

"You look almost as excited as he was."

[trigger_man]

Jack looks a little sheepish. "Secret tunnels are the kind of thing you read about in Hardy Boys novels as a kid. Kind of hard not to be a little excited."

He takes a sip of his hot chocolate, now that it won't sear his tongue.

"I take it the tunnels were from Prohibition and used for smuggling?"

[fanofthegenre]

She just grins at him, shifting on the couch.

"I didn't say you weren't allowed to be. And, yeah, good guess. Though they were only being used for hiding some pretty valuable bottles of liquor when we discovered them."