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]

She cracks a smile, briefly.

"Don't I know it. If anything, we totally deserve the access to this bar, just to ensure time stops for us every now and then."

[trigger_man]

"Oh yeah. A place where nothing goes wrong and everything's peaceful so we have a chance to unwind."

Sarcasm much?

[fanofthegenre]

"Hey, I don't know about you, but this right here? Is a really good place to start."

She might be biased, seeing as how she's on the receiving end, but details.

[trigger_man]

"Remind me of that the next time there's some kind of weird flu going around, or Bar decides to dress everyone up in costumes."

[fanofthegenre]

"Flukes in an otherwise very enjoyable time," Beckett declares.

[trigger_man]

"Uh-huh. Flukes. Though I guess if you want to go off the grid, this is about as far off as you can go."

[fanofthegenre]

"That's for sure."

She leans forward, back arching, stretching until she can hear the slight crack, and then rolls her shoulders back again.

[trigger_man]

Jack's been working his thumbs down her spine and pulls back when she stretches. "Feeling better, or do you still have some tense spots?"

[fanofthegenre]

"I think I'm okay now. Thanks."

She's not even thinking about it when she adds: "Want to switch?"

[trigger_man]

Jack hesitates for a moment, not sure how well he'll handle someone touching him from behind. After a moment he nods. He can trust Beckett, and this can be...a test. An experiment, to see just how long he can take it.

Besides, he knows he could probably use it, and there's no fucking way he's letting a stranger--no matter how professional--get into his personal space.

"Would it be easier if I sat down?" Jack asks, taking a rather large sip of his drink to try and settle his nerves.

[fanofthegenre]

"Good thinking," she says, finishing off her own glass, though it's only to leave her hands free as she settles back on the couch again, leaving plenty of room for him to find his own seat.

"I might be rusty, too, all things considered. Keep an open mind."

[trigger_man]

Jack downs the rest of his glass, then takes a seat on the couch again, turning his back to her.

"Don't worry, I will."

[fanofthegenre]

"Okay."

She squares up behind him, flexing her fingers, and then settles her hands on him - gently, at first, not applying too much pressure so she doesn't overwhelm him, and then slowly, gradually starts to knead firmer on his shoulders.

[trigger_man]

Jack tenses for a moment, but slowly lets his shoulders relax as she starts to knead away the knots in his shoulders. The most noise he makes is a soft moan as she works out one particular tight spot or a slight hiss through his teeth as she hits the bad spot in his left shoulder that's still giving him trouble some days.

"That feels better than I remembered," Jack says after a minute or two.

[fanofthegenre]

"I'm surprised," Beckett admits, fingers gently pressing into the tender spots and working out other areas of tension a little harder. "I would've thought you'd be a lot worse than this."

Given what she's been able to piece together from his past, she was half-expecting his back to be completely shot - though she's relieved, more than anything else, as he loosens up under her hands.

[trigger_man]

"I'm not sure whether I should take that as a compliment or not," Jack says in a wry tone. "Trust me, I have my days."

[fanofthegenre]

"It's a compliment," she quickly interjects, hiding her smile behind his back as her fingers slide up to the back of his neck.

"It is."

[trigger_man]

"I'll take your word for it," Jack says. He lets his head tilt forward as she hits a spot that sends goosebumps down his spine. Not in a bad way, either.

[fanofthegenre]

"And, anyway, you're already halfway to feeling better just by letting me do this," she adds, her fingers slipping up and spreading out over the back of his head, moving through short strands of hair.

"Just try to relax."

[trigger_man]

"Trust me, I'm more relaxed than I've been in years right now." That's even with the small knot of anxiety in his gut from feeling her fingers moving over his head.

[fanofthegenre]

He can't see it, but there's a smile there, faintly flickering over her features before she drops her head to hide it and her hand slides back down to his shoulder.

"Good."

[trigger_man]

"Maybe you should considering moonlighting here in the bar doing massages; earn some credit on your tab."

[fanofthegenre]

"Oh, you're funny."

She breathes a chuckle behind his back.

"I can only imagine what the guys will say if they caught wind of that - no, once Castle told them about it."

[trigger_man]

"Well he'd have to tell them about the magic bar at the end of the universe first, but yeah, I can see that they wouldn't let you live it down," Jack says.

Closing his eyes, he takes a couple deep breaths, trying to relax, trying not to think about anything but what she's saying and what she's doing with her hands.

[fanofthegenre]

Beckett groans quietly, her hands stilling on his shoulders.

"That's a whole different conversation that should probably happen before one or both of them stumble onto it themselves."