Run like an angry Kenyan!

THE STARTING LINE AND MILE ONE:

The sky was still dark, the air chilly, but the streets were buzzing, alive with the sounds of thousands of runners. Periodically the voices of the announcers boomed from loudspeakers mounted on the streetlights, but only quick words and phrases can really be made out: "Get ready… half marathon… 25000 runners… take on the city!" In between announcements, peppy music floated through the air.

Her finger tapped the beat on her thigh, as she moved them through the crowd effectively, searching for their starting block. Kate had been ambitious, signing them up for a 9:00-9:59 mile pace, and Castle was swearing behind her, startling the people they moved through. "How the fuck did I let you talk me into this? The madness, Kate! This body was not made for running!" She ignored him, focusing on moving forward. Castle kept speaking though. "Hey, Kate, you think we can stay here? Hey look! It's the 10:00-12:59 start group. Yep, this is what I was made for. I like this; I'm going to stay here. Yep."

She reached behind her, twisting her hand into his and giving it a brief squeeze. "Come on, Castle," she turned, a small smile on her face. "Did you forget that you're doing this for charity?" She pulled them through the next barricade, flashing the pacing bracelet on her wrist as they passed.

They lined up at the back of the group, a concession to Castle's desires. Kate began to bounce on the balls of her feet, the excitement of the race ahead coursing through her, stretching out her arms too. Next to her, Castle stood stoic, arms folded, pouting, and the sight was adorable. She moved up to him, sliding alongside him, pulling him into her arms. To be honest, she was thankful for his warmth – at only 6:45 am in the fall, NYC is still chilly. "Hey, Castle. We've been training for this. We've got it." He doesn't respond, preferring the insulted silent treatment. She shook her head, amused, before disentangling herself and bending down to stretch, touching her toes. Feeling his eyes on her ass, she looked up at him, making eye contact. "Really?!" Straightening herself, she pushed him lightly. "Come on, stretch, get warm; you don't want to pull something."

"Yeah, get warm. What a joke. It's fucking cold out here. Hey, look at that person! And that one! They all have on sweatshirts and you wouldn't let me wear one out of the apartment today!"

"That's because then you would be very hot in about fifteen minutes. Trust me, Castle. This is not my first half marathon."

Castle grumbled to himself, "Yeah, well it's my first. And last."

Kate smiled. She had felt the same way before her first race, swore up and down that she'd never do such a foolhardy thing again. Her mother wanted a "bonding weekend" with her daughter and had signed them both up for a half marathon in San Francisco. Johanna had flown out on Saturday, they had spent a lovely day in the city, and Kate had made it abundantly clear she wanted nothing to do with a 5:30 am wake-up only to stand in the cold for a half hour before starting a race that would involve running 13.1 hours for another two hours. Her mother had only shook her head and told Kate that she'd do it, that she'd love it, even as Kate stood at the starting line, grumbling and swearing under her breath, cursing her mother's bad ideas.

Forty minutes into the race, a grin on her face, she had turned to her mother, raving about how much fun she was having.

She knew Castle would be the same way. When they went on runs together, they would make up stories about the people they passed, and Castle would become so engrossed he would never realize how long he had been running for. For his runs on his own, she had bought him an iPhone app that had zombies and missions and something else; she honestly didn't know the details, but she knew that he came back from those runs, grinning and all proud he would survive the apocalypse, before "distributing" supplies with a few swipes on his phone. Kate just laughed at his gleeful smile and thanked her lucky stars that she hadn't wasted eight dollars on the app. Castle had the mind for running, able to occupy itself for miles, and he would love the race.

A gunshot in the distance and the unconscious reflex was triggered; Kate's hand reached for her hip, before dropping. Castle gave her a concerned look, but smiled when Kate offered a sheepish grin, more embarrassed than anything. "Whoops?" she said, and he laughed, before their line began to move forward. The race was huge, and they would not be starting for a number of minutes, but the group moved closer yet to the starting gate, shuffling forward.

She twisted her hand into his, weaving their fingers together, enjoying the weight of his against hers. His fingers moved restlessly against the back of her hands, drumming a nervous rhythm, and it was the first time she realized he might actually be anxious about this. "Hey, Castle?" He looked down at her. "You're going to rock this."

"You bet your ass I am. I'll probably even beat you."

"HEY!" She protested. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass."

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm pretty sure I'm going to win. I mean, just face the facts, Beckett. I'm going to beat you."

"Unlikely." They have moved into the starting chute now, and the crowd has broken into a light jog, so they released hands and began to jog. She bumped him lightly as they passed over the threshold of the start line and picked up the pace slightly. "Ready for your first half?"

"Unlikely." He parroted her line back, and she laughed. They set a brisk pace, but they can both speak comfortably, even if they had to take pauses at times between sentences. They ran for a few minutes in silence, before they simultaneously broke out in laughter at a sign held by a spectator: "Run like an angry Kenyan!"

"Brilliant." He stated. "Will there be more of these along the course?"

She nodded, and he immediately perked up, began scanning the course ahead for more good ones. "Hey Castle?"

"Yeah, Kate?" His breath was just the slightest bit labored, a little pout on the end, and it made her grin.

"Thanks for running this with me, Castle." He hadn't needed to. She had teased him mercilessly about being such a gentleman he was going to let her run all alone, struggling alone. But she had teased every boyfriend before, and none of them had decided it was worth the hours of training to actually participate in the race with her.

"I'm sure I'll regret it tomorrow –" he breathed, "or in a half hour, but absolutely." A beat. "I'm glad to get to do this with you."

She looked up at him. He was sincere, and she smiled for a moment before looking ahead of her again. "Well, Castle, since you're doing this for me, I'm doing this for you." She made a movement with her hand, and the pair slid around a slow moving group ahead, picking up the pace slightly to get into an empty patch again. They slowed, and then she resumed her statement. "I'm going to tell you a story for every mile – a new story about me that you haven't heard before." She checked the path ahead, before switching to side shuffles. She licked her lips seductively when he glanced at her, and he gasped lightly before shifting his attention ahead. "And hey, Castle? You know what the story at the finish line will be?" He looked at her, took in her raised eyebrows, and shook his head, feigning innocence. She smiled. He knew damn well what she was about to say, but the man always wanted to hear her say it. "I'm going to blow your fucking mind – in so many ways."

His pace picked up slightly, and she switched back to a jog from the side shuffle. "What are you doing, Castle?"

He looked at her seriously. "Let's get to the end faster."

She shook her head. "We've got 12.1 more miles," she said, pointing to the MILE ONE sign they just passed. "12 stories to go! Let's take it slowly, starting with my first story. You'll enjoy this race, Castle." She looked at him. "I promise."

"Yeah, yeah. Get on with the story, Kate."

She grinned, and began the first of twelve stories.


Author's Note: I think what I'm planning to do with this story is fairly self-evident. Born from my own experiences racing, a couple of fabulous runs from my high school XC days, and an adorable couple I saw running the NWM two weekends ago.

Also, this is a sign I really saw during my race. I also very really almost tripped over the sidewalk because I started laughing so hard. I do not regret putting this in here, but I'm sorry if the stereotype offends you.

As always, reviews are SO damn appreciated. I can't get better without your help, and I hope you feel like you're starting to see improvement. I'm hoping to have inspiration in the other outstanding story I have - I have later chapters of "Ancient, Modern or Sexual?" written, but not current ones. Anyway, my point is - reviews = really really happy Jennifer. :D