Castle Imagines

2. Photography (Kevin Ryan)

(Published September 25, 2021) 

   "So, are Beckett and Castle together yet?" I asked, squinting a little through the sight on my camera.  Kevin was sweet enough to put up with my constant pestering to take pictures of him, and today we were shooting some in a park near my house.  I might be a photographer for homicide scenes, but I liked taking pictures of live humans occasionally, too!  And Keven was by far my favorite subject.  
   "Nope.  Beckett's going out with some doctor guy right now," Kevin informed me.  "And Castle is spending time with his second ex-wife." 
   "That's a wise idea," I murmured sarcastically before speaking up so he could hear me.  "How long are they going to keep this up?  I feel like everyone knows they're into each other except them." 
   "Welcome to the club.  We've been hinting at it since we figured it out, and they just can't seem to grasp it." 
   "Why don't you sit next to the rock, that might be a better angle.  Turn a little.  There, don't move!" I directed, clicking a few pictures as I played with angles.  "Well, I doubt Beckett's going to be the first to admit it."  
   "I don't know, she was close a few months ago," Kevin pointed out.  "Sweetheart, I love you, but this ground is damp and cold." 
   "Sorry!  I got a few, you're good." 
   Chuckling, he got to his feet and brushed off his hands and jeans before walking over to me.  "So when do I get to take some pictures of you?" 
   I playfully jerked my camera away from him with a grin.  "No way!  I take the pictures, I'm not the one who gets their picture taken." 
   "You've got to have a hundred of me by now at least, Evie.  Shouldn't I have a few captured memories of you, too?" He asked, giving me what I would describe as puppy dog eyes.  
   "You take pictures of me on your phone all the time," I reminded him with a small laugh.  
   "Not the same," He objected in a very serious manner.  "I only have pictures of your daily life and our dates.  I've never done an actual photo shoot of you.  Actually, I've never done a photo shoot of anyone before.  It could be fun." 
   "But I didn't dress up or anything," I pointed out.  
   "Doesn't matter." He smiled, grabbing my free hand in his and pressing a kiss to my knuckles.  "Clothes don't make you beautiful, you make them beautiful." 
   I blushed red at his words.  He always knew how to leave me speechless!  With a small grin, I reluctantly handed my camera over to him.  
   "Alright, let's do this," He said giddily, looking over the pricy device I had given him.  
   While he tried to figure it out, I tried to fix my casual look into something a little nicer.  I pulled my hair out of it's pony tail and arranged it somewhat over my shoulders.  I unzipped my jacket, hoping the ivy green shirt underneath would help make the pale jean jacket a touch prettier.  Then, I turned my gaze on my boyfriend, who was watching me with a soft smile.  
   "Ready?" He asked, his eyebrows raising briefly in the way that made my heart stutter.  
   "As ready as I'm going to be!" I giggled nervously.  
   For the next thirty minutes, he did his best to play the part of the photographer.  He tried to pose me, found the best spots in the park, and seemed to be having far too much fun with it all!  He nearly fell over a few times when he was trying to get just the right angle, and made me laugh with his photo taking antics.  I knew a lot of the pictures wouldn't turn out great, but we were both having a blast.  
   After a while, he finally came up to me with a triumphant look on his face.  "Alright, baby.  I think we've got a couple winners!" 
   Laughing, I took back the camera carefully and slung it over my shoulder.  His face instantly fell into a look of surprise.  
   "You aren't going to look at them?" He demanded.  
   "Nope!  It's more fun if you look at them on a larger screen, like my computer," I assured him.  He looked skeptical for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.  
   "To your apartment it is, then," He stated, holding out his arm to me. 
   I looped mine around his and we started off across the park.  
   "That was fun," I told him earnestly.  
   "Really?  I couldn't tell if you were enjoying it or simply humoring me, so I tried not to take too long," He admitted.  
   "No, it was really fun.  I like your technique; it's amusing." 
   "Hey now, it was my first try," He chuckled with me.  
   "Oh, I'm sure you got a couple decent ones." 
   "A couple?  With the autumn leaves as your background, I'm sure I got more than just a couple." 
   "We'll see!" 
   He was about to reply when my phone went off.  His followed not a moment later.  Glancing up at each other, we both let out a sigh.  Looks like I had more pictures to take, and he had some detective work to tackle.  
   "I'll come over tonight to look at them," He offered.  
   "Deal.  See you then." I gave him a smile before pulling out my phone.