A/N: my mother named this. From a list of numbered prompts on tumblr. Serving as a post epi for 8x20
19. The paint's supposed to go where?
"The paint's supposed to go where?"
"Anywhere." Her tongue pops between her teeth, satisfaction rumbling through her chest. "Everywhere."
"So you could paint my -"
She caresses the brush, toying with the bristles until his eyes drop, "Mmhmm."
"And I could paint your-" He waggles his fingers.
She strokes lazily at the length of the long wooden handle, heat blooming in her chest as his pupils dilate. It races out flooding her body with desire, grip now shaky with anticipation. "Yeah."
"Even the -" Just one finger gestures now, a slow circular motion that makes them both swallow hard. No mistaking the meaning, or the memory.
She replies, breathless, but vocal. Like always. "If - if you want to."
"And then I -" he motions, "-on your-"
"Yes."
"And we make -"
"Art."
She grins, fanning the tubes of body paint across her chest. His eyes follow, dipping between the valley of her breasts. The cerulean blue a stark contrast to her coral pink flesh.
"Right there on the -" he gulps, throat not the only thing bobbing at the idea.
"Canvas." she gestures to the special sheet draped across their bed. "Yes." She wets her lips, holds his eyes as soon as they lift from their slow burning perusal of her scantily clad frame. "I thought we needed a do-over."
"A do-over?"
She circles him, pushes his shirt over his shoulders, lips to his ear to breathe, "A take two."
His eyes flit back and forth from where she stands to the pile of supplies she's heaped on the floor of their bedroom. "Look," Kate steps closer, "we swore we'd never be boring and maybe date night on the floor with chinese food wasn't exactly exciting -"
"Hey, no." He shakes his head, eyes narrowed, coming for her without interruption.
"- but I missed the little things while I was gone, Castle." She drops the tubes on the bed, reaching up to loop her arms around his neck instead. "The simple things. Like stuffing our faces and talking all night." Her head drops to the curve of his throat, she presses her smile to his pulse, "Do you know how nice it was not having to jump and up and run out of the room because the doorbell rang?"
He chuckles, and she does too, lifting up when he dips to kiss her.
"Mmm" he hums, voice deep, dark, "don't jinx us now, Beckett." Hot breath slips behind her ear, tangles in the loose strands of her hair.
Her laughter stutters to a stop when Castle unknots the robe, fingers sliding over the curve of her naked hip. She shivers and his hands navigate to the base of her spine, squeeze, and pull her in.
"Wouldn't want that," she murmurs, eyes closing with each gentle touch, "the paint might dry up -" he wrinkles his nose, jumps when her fingers slip, " - get hard."
"I think you'll find I alre-"
She steals another kiss, laughs all the way into it. "So how about it? Wanna help me create -"
"A masterpiece?" He grins, eyebrow raising, snagging fingers with her as she finally frees his belt.
"Exactly." She pushes him backwards and he just about makes it to the bed.
"We're gonna need more paint."