"We're all stories, in the end."
― Steven Moffat
"So, tell me more about this Alternate Universe of yours," Kate asks, as she stares at her husband's face that is currently smooshed into his pillow.
His eyes, which were watching his fingers draw circles on her bare belly, look up at her.
"What about it?" Castle smiles, as his hand stills its movements.
Kate playfully widens her eyes for a moment, "I don't know, surprise me."
He teasingly narrows his eyes at her, in return. "Hmmm, well, you were you. Driven, intelligent, gorgeous as ever –" he leans in to kiss the side of Kate's mouth, making her hum because of the contact. "—Captain of your own precinct, and you were even developing quite the little crush on me." Castle finishes off his sentence by wiggling his eyebrows.
Kate laughs as she moves her hand so that it rests against her chin. "Oh, really? And how did you come to that conclusion?"
"Well...you see," Castle scoots closer to her and grasps the jut of her hip to turn her towards him, his hair tickling her chin as he begins to place soft kisses along her neck. "I had a slight advantage," his words moving over her skin. "Over six years of experience...six years of observing you, watching as you fell so madly in love with my charm and—"
Kate lightly pushes her husband's chest and lets a laugh escape. "I'm going to stop you right there, Rick," she grins softly.
"What? I'm speaking the truth," he counters with a grin. "For four years I watched you try to hide that you were into me. It was adorable." Castle hones in on Beckett's neck again, wanting nothing more than to continue his assault on it.
"Okay, I admit, you may have had a slight advantage there," Kate pauses. "So, what snapped you out of this so called Alternate Universe?" she asks, humoring him.
His eyes lock onto hers as he brings his hand that was resting on her hip and settles it along the side of her face; his thumb begins to move rhythmically against her cheek.
Kate's smile starts to fade as she watches his eyes cloud over, his sight briefly cast down to find the right words. When he looks up at her again, there's some sadness swirling around behind the blue in his eyes.
She can't help but run her teeth along her bottom lip.
"Hey, what's up?" she murmurs, taking his hand that is now lightly brushing through her hair, down to rest between their chests-not letting go of it.
His lips part for a moment, an almost smile, but instead he props his head up with the arm he was laying on.
"I jumped in front of a bullet for you," meeting her gaze; his eyes full of so much love, and a slight shimmer of regret that will probably always be there.
It makes her breath catch in her chest. "Castle..." she breathes.
The apology is gone from his eyes and is quickly replaced with determination. "Hey...hey, no, it's not like that, Kate," he quickly gets out. "I know we've moved past this...I've moved past this...but you know me, I'm a writer and there are just some moments that you will always carry with you, moments that alter you, you know? And watching you die in front of me is one of them. I accepted that a long time ago."
His eyes scan her features, follow her gaze, which is now focused on their joined hands.
Kate nods her head. "I do have those moments too," she affirms, looking up at him knowingly.
"And hey—" she lets go of his hand and brings it to his face. Her eyes tracking the movement of her hand; her fingers ghost along his eyebrow and then down the skin of his jaw line. "—you were the one that taught me how important it is to keep living, to live each day, and I'm forever grateful for that."
"We've been through a lot, haven't we?" Castle chuckles, regarding her with such understanding. The stroke of her thumb along his bottom lip makes his eyes flutter closed.
Kate bows her head for a moment and then raises it once more, "And you know what? I'm positive that if you spent more time in your Alternate Universe, I'm sure I—or maybe we should go with she—would have fallen in love with your charm, and your heart." She gives him a reassuring smirk.
"Oh, no doubt about it," he laughs. God he loves this woman.
"After all," she adds. "I was intrigued by you back then and it's not so far off to believe she was too."
Kate leans in to kiss him, hooks her arm around his neck to bring her body closer to his as he wraps his arm around her waist to do the exact same thing; bring her closer. She'll never get tired of this. The weight of his body against hers, his grip on her conveying just how much he wants her. It's amazing how natural it has always been: them.
Castle regrettably breaks the kiss first, their heavy breaths filling the night air of their bedroom, her lips already missing the contact.
"I have to show you something," he declares, softly knocks his nose against hers and then glances up at her. "I made a promise to myself a few years ago that I would one day give you these and I don't know that there will ever be a perfect time, so why not now, right?" He gives her a quick kiss and rolls out of bed.
"Uh, okay," she says, wondering what he is up to.
Kate smiles to herself as she watches her husband's silhouette try to find a pair of sweatpants, the moonlight from their bedroom window barely highlighting his broad figure; she can't help but roll her eyes as she hears him bump into a piece of furniture and the mumbled "ouch" that follows. God, she loves this silly man.
She moves to lay on her back when he disappears into his study, takes a deep breath in, and exhales with a grin. They've been married for almost a week now and she's high on it. It's not that it's completely different than before, but it's the little things. Like the feel of his wedding band when she holds his hand, or the whispered "Mrs. Castle" in her ear. She closes her eyes at the phantom feel of his cool, metal ring as his hands make it their mission to touch as much of her skin as possible.
She feels the mattress slightly sink, snapping her right out of her day dream.
"Did you miss me?" He gives her one of his ridiculous smirks.
She is warmed by the complete joy staring back at her. "Oh, of course," she sarcastically drawls out, shaking her head at him when she catches how pleased he looks with himself.
He moves further onto the bed and sits cross legged beside her, so she sits up and leans her back against the headboard, taking every inch of him in.
"Before I deal with how sexy you look right now," she purses her lips at that. "I have to show you these." He looks down at the shoebox sitting in his lap; his hands tracing the box, unable to keep them still.
"What's in it?" she asks, watching as Castle draws his hand through his hair. Wow, he's nervous, she muses to herself.
"So, the summer after you were shot," and then he stops himself, takes a moment to open up the box of letters.
Kate sits up and faces him completely; crossing her legs as she takes one of his hands in hers and brings it to her lips. She's relieved to see his shoulders relax slightly, so she kisses each one of his knuckles, hoping it's a comfort for him as much as it seems to be.
He gives her a quick smile, not completely reaching his eyes, but thanking her nonetheless.
She mirrors him, ready to listen when he's ready.
"Me taking a bullet for you and then declaring my love for you...well it's not the first time that's happened," he reveals. "It's happened quite a bit, many different ways. Some nights I saved you and others...you know," he sighs.
Kate doesn't say anything, but her stomach drops. She had a lot of dreams that summer also. She urges him on with the constant presence of her thumb moving against the skin of his hand. They've talked about it a few times; not really ones to dwell too much in the past. She's done that before and then Castle showed up, breathing new life into her.
He continues, very matter-of-factly, "So, I wrote to you. I wrote about my dreams of saving you and how much I missed you...really, I wrote about whatever was on my mind. It helped."
He looks up at her then and the amount of emotion that's crossing his face takes her breath away; flashes of memories that used to bring him so much pain, but are now just another page in their story.
"These..." he strokes the pieces of paper, "are your love letters—our love letters," he whispers as if someone would overhear.
She can't bring herself to look away from him and at the box of letters. This sweet, sweet man.
"Castle...this...I know you mentioned that you wrote, but you said it was nothing. I...I had no idea," her words start to taper off. "It was hell for the both of us; I missed you so damn much," Kate lets go of his hand and brings hers to rest in her lap.
"I can't believe you kept all of these," she finally gets out, her eyes grasping the contents in the opened shoebox.
She feels the air move as he reaches for her; revels in how aware her body is of him. He isn't even touching her yet, but she can practically feel him.
He lightly grips her chin and lifts it so he can catch her sight again. "These letters are just a part of our story and you can do with them what you want, Kate. You're my wife, my partner, and our story, how we got here...it's beautiful and frustrating and a testament to how far we've come."
His words are so sure, so right, her heart swells with the feeling of it.
And then she lets out a small laugh, completely catching Castle off guard.
"We're pretty badass, huh?" she smiles at him, so much love for the man before her it's practically radiating off of her.
He moves so he can kneel in front of her, his face so close to hers that his breath gives her skin goose bumps. She swallows hard. The heat of his hands resting on her thighs starts to warm her entire body.
"That we are, Mrs. Castle," he marvels. "We've faced a tiger and many bullets..."
"...abductions and car crashes," Kate adds with a quirk of her eyebrow.
Castle nods his head excitedly, his smile contagious. "Serial killers and attack dogs," he quips.
Kate laughs at the memory of a younger Castle with a strategically placed rip in his jeans.
He gives her a pensive look, "Undercover ops, late night rendezvous—"
Kate cuts him off with a kiss, her teeth grazing his bottom lip, making her husband moan.
"You were saying?" she seductively breathes into his mouth.
He leans in and briefly captures her lips again. "I was just about to list our triumphs," his voice husky with arousal.
"Castle. Just shut up and kiss me."
The responding growl from him made her stomach flutter. His hands confidently rake down her sides to take hold of her hips. Her body is already canting towards his as he turns her to lay her down onto their bed, immediately starts trailing kisses down his wife's neck and then sucks on her collarbone. Her body arches into his, hands at his nape; she can feel him everywhere.
"Happy wife, happy life, as they say," Castle grins into her skin.
She shakes her head at him, smiling; closes her eyes as he pays worship to her scars. She threads her fingers through his hair, "Hey. Rick, look at me."
He stops his descent down her body, his hands already riding up her t-shirt searching for more of her; his blue eyes a gorgeous sight against her skin, utter adoration for her pouring out of them. She falls in love with him again, right then.
"I've never...will never be happier than I am here with you. No matter what the future holds for us," continues to move her fingers through his short strands of hair. "Thank you, for my letters," she murmurs lovingly.
The sight of her, how her soft curls are splayed so perfectly against the pillow, the beautiful rise and fall of her chest, it makes his lips turn up. He places his hands on each side of her body and drags his body up along hers, a tease; his bare chest barely rustling the shirt she's still wearing. He lingers above her, enamored by his beautiful wife; how her eyes search his, the scrape of her teeth against her bottom lip. He slowly leans down, lets his nose brush her cheek, until his lips hover over her ear and whisper a promise.
"Always, Kate. Always."
A/N: Slightly AU from the show since it's not canon that Castle wrote letters to Beckett the summer after she was shot, but I like to think he did.
Thank you so much for reading. Thoughts are always appreciated. :)