A/N: kimmiesjoy: For Kat, on her 20th birthday. Take KB's advice ;)
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one.
co-authored with AlwaysCastle.
"Your stare was holdin',
Ripped jeans,
skin was showin'
Hot night, wind was blowin
"Where you think you're going, baby?"
He stood at the edge of the park, his hands deep in his pockets as he tried not to fidget. But his hands were clammy, the nerves getting the better of him, and it didn't help that the night was growing hotter by the hour.
Running his fingers under his collar, he let out a heavy breath, somewhat regretting the dress shirt, but he knew she liked it. Whenever he wore it her fingers would linger over his collar, she would nuzzle her cheek against his shoulder and sigh with a sound of such contentment that it flipped his stomach over every time.
The sound of the fountain reached his ears as he strolled along. The serene free fall of the water as it cascaded down into the waiting pool below. He could imagine the ripple, the disturbance that stirred up the ever growing nerves in his chest, and he paused for just a moment.
He was early, of course he was early, feet carrying him too quickly in the evening sun. Desperation to see her, need and longing to be with her again overriding his ability to care about times and places and … well anything really.
He rushed, his heart pulling him along. Each step was measured carefully, not in time with the maddening beat of his heart. He was less controlled than usual, having to shake his head at himself and just slow down. Resisting the urge to run the rest of the way and take her in his arms, swinging her around as she yelled at him through her laughter.
Sweep her off her feet.
That's what he wanted to do more than anything. But she was Kate fucking Beckett, she of the long legs and shiny hair and...just wow. Though it would probably end painfully for him, he was sort of tempted to see exactly what she would do if he picked her up in the middle of the park in front of all these people.
Anything to put that fire in her eyes. And when he saw her, his heart stopped, causing that simmering fire of his own to ignite.
"Wow." He breathed out at the sight of her before him.
There she was, bathed in light as she stood, hair loose around her face, slipping past her ears to fall across her magnificent cheekbones. Oh to be able to rest along her soft skin...
Even from here, he could see her smile. It shone brighter than anything he'd ever seen before, and he was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. She was the siren of his heart, luring him in with her feminine wiles.
Did she realize she was deadly? He wondered, as he took another step forward, brushing his hand through his hair. She was deadly to him at least, stealing his breath, making his heart pound and burning through his veins.
She said he was worse for her, did the same to her. She had laughed at the time because he had looked so proud and she teased him. She said he liked knocking her off her feet...
He honestly didn't think it was possible for anyone to do that.
But the closer he got, watching her there by the fountain as she sat along the edge...he couldn't be sorry if he did. For she was the epitome of everything that was good and beautiful in this world. Everything he had ever thought it possible to want or need.
The elixir of life, the sweet nectar he would gladly partake in.
Getting sappy, he grinned watching her so carefree in the summer heat. Her long neck exposed, waiting for his attention, he hoped. He wanted to run his nose and lips along the skin from collarbone to just behind her ear, breathe her in.
Her delicious scent...and taste.
He swallowed, as if tasting her already, and paused yet again, watching as she dipped her hand into the depths, that smile widening and making her eyes shine. She leant back on one elbow her long legs stretched out in front of her, bare and tanned. Golden brown thanks to her spending almost the entire summer in the denim shorts she was wearing now.
He almost couldn't take it.. the sight before him. She was more than just Kate Beckett to him, she wasn't just his partner...
They had been together awhile now but for some reason today, her call to meet in the park and sight of her...maybe just the heat itself of summer, it was a little overwhelming. He had the sudden urge to shower her with gifts, something...
Flowers, he turned remembering passing someone selling them as he was walking along. He turned back debating whether or not to tell her before he ran off...but she took the decision from him.
She lifted her head from the mesmerizing pull of the water she had been trailing her fingers through and found his eyes. She must have seen him turning back and forth in confusion because she was smiling as she pushed herself away from her seat and started to walk towards him.
Laughing at him, laughing with him. Just laughing.
God, he loved her so much.
He watched every step she took towards him, slipping her sunglasses down from her hair and over her eyes, her hands lazy at her waist as she hooked her fingers over the edge of her pockets.
"Going somewhere?" She asked coming to a stop in front of him, popping her glasses up on her head and tilting her face to one side. She smiled at him, snaking her arm up over his shoulder and sifting her fingers at the nape of his neck.
"N...no, never."
"Good." She said, before going up onto her toes, and pecking him on the lips. "Then what was with the little dance you were just doing?" The words played out against his lips as she went in for another.
"I was not dancing!" He exclaimed pulling back.
She laughed, pulling her lip between her teeth for a moment before shrugging. "Looked like it to me..." She trailed off, letting her hand drop from his shoulder, and taking his hand. "That or you really need to pee."
His mouth dropped open, as she pulled him along to the fountain. It closed, and then reopened. "Kate, Kate, Kate." He shook his head several times as she stopped them and he nearly bumped into her. "You know I always go before I leave the house."
"Mmm," she hummed. "I trained you well." She looped her arm with his, and stared down into the rippling water. "Now if only I could get you to..." He squeezed her closer, dropping his chin to her shoulder. "Stop sniffing me in public." She shivered as his nose skimmed past her ear and she felt him inhaling deeply.
He groaned "But Beckett...you smell so good." He whined and she turned into him, her fingers tight at the back of his neck as she held him place.
"Ok finneee." She whined back, smiling as she copied his tone of voice, "but maybe drop the Beckett."
"So Kate I can sniff?" He said as he buried his nose deeper into her hair, before moving along the length of her bare neck, sniffing her exaggeratedly.
"If you must." She said with a laugh, shaking off the shiver before she nudged him lightly in the ribs.
They made their way back to the fountain and sat down not far from the place that Kate had just vacated, shuffling to get comfortable again.
He turned her around in his arms, holding her weight against his chest as she leaned back. "I must."
She relaxed against him with a sigh bringing a hand up and reaching behind her to caress the side of his face. Leaving her hand curled tenderly around his jaw. They stayed like that a while, content to just be.
"Mmm." Kate hummed watching the water lap at the sides of the fountain, distorting the coins resting magically at the bottom. "This is nice."
"I agree." He said through a deep rumble in his chest. "It really is." He added, smoothing a hand down her side before resting his palm against her bare thigh, thumb playing with the edge of her shorts.
He dipped his thumb underneath, poking it through the small hole. She pressed further into him as he teased her through her ripped shorts and hummed softly again when he nuzzled into the side of her neck.
"Why did you ask me to meet you here?" He asked, biting down on her earlobe gently. He felt her fingers tense against his skin as his tongue swept over a particularly soft spot on the back of her ear.
"No reason." She said rather breathlessly. She smiled as she tilted her head back further into his chest.
Castle bent over her, looking into the water and dipping one hand in. He pulled it out, letting it drip onto her leg. "Going to make a wish?" He asked watching the little droplets swerve down her skin.
"I already did." She replied, pointing at a quarter closest to the spouts. "And it already came true."
"And what did you wish for?"
"You."
He laughed, the vibrations bouncing her against him "Oh wow, cheesy." He teased, his fingers tensing over her thigh.
She dug at him with her elbow, smiling again when she heard his sharp intake of breath "Shut up, you love it." She pulled herself free of his arms and sat up facing him, her eyes narrowed.
"Yes," He agreed nodding emphatically, "Yes I do love it, but not as much..." He leant forwards. lifting her jaw with his fingers "..as I love you." He voice dropped off quietly, the truth laced words floating between them.
"Oh and I'm cheesy." She grinned, but the softness of her smile and the sudden shine in her eyes took away any sting that would have been in the words.
"Maybe we will just have to accept the fact that we're a very cheesy couple." He said with a shrug. He was thoroughly absorbed, fascinated even, by the way the water sparkled and twinkled and reflected through her beautiful green and brown eyes.
"And drive people even more crazy with our cuteness?" She asked tipping her head to one side.
"Well I've been doing it for years." He grinned as she rolled her eyes. "What? I am cute."
"Mmmhmm."
"Oh come on, you can admit it now surely?" He suggested waggling his eyebrows.
"Admit what?" She asked innocently.
"That you find me totally hot."
"Are you putting words in my mouth, Castle?" She asked, eyes narrowed again as she waits him out, watching the comical way his eyebrows shot up.
"Would you rather I put something else in your mouth?"
"Mmm yeah." She moaned watching as his eyes widened, then she laughed. "An ice cream sandwich." She said pulling her bottom lip into her mouth and wetting it with her tongue as she leaned further towards him.
"That can be arranged." He replied, unconsciously mirroring her and licking his lips.
She watched him as he got up, bending to press his lips to hers in a chaste, considering they were in public, but heated kiss before he made his way to the ice cream vender.
She watched him dither in the late afternoon sun as he waited in line, turning now and then to find her eyes, hold her stare and smile. She found herself grinning at him, just happily sitting in the park smiling like a crazy person at the man she loved.
He could see every little bit of it playing out on her face, and when he winked she gave in and laughed, loudly, not caring who saw, who heard...she was happy.
He came back a lot quicker than she expected given the length of the line, and she couldn't help but wonder if he had bribed some of the kids who had been ahead of him.
"Here ya goooo." He said with a leer and a seductive eye waggle. "Mmm sammiches."
She laughed loudly again, and yeah, she found that ridiculous man sexy. She shook her head as she lifted her hand, she was a total goner for every little bit of him. The silly humour, the dark and brooding even the voices and weird words...totally lost in love.
It was wonderful.
He handed the sandwich to her, bumping her hip as he sat back down at the edge of the fountain with his own ice cream. He watched her unwrap the ice cream sandwich and smiled at her as she took it delicately, her eyes wide and she hummed before turning it over in her fingers. He took his eyes off her a moment, licking at his ice cream cone as it started to melt down his hand, and then, nearly dropped it when he looked back up and saw what she was doing with the ice cream sandwich.
It was poised in her right hand, the vanilla ice cream in the centre exposed to her. He caught sight, just as her tongue darted back into her mouth, and her eyes closed and her lips pursed in pleasure before she slipped her tongue back out to lick the vanilla from bottom to top.
Slowly...agonizingly slow.
Pushing her tongue through the centre of the sandwich, and then opening her eyes, with the ice cream thick on her tongue, she gave him the most devious grin he had ever seen, and then continued to bring her tongue back into her mouth, moan, and lick yet again.
Oh fuck.. he wanted to be that ice cream...
"Kate." He said, as she dipped her tongue into the centre again.
"Mmm?" She asked looking at him through her eyelashes before delving in a last time.
She was mesmerizing, because now, his chocolate ice cream was slithering down his arm to his elbow, and dripping onto his shoe. "Nn..nothing.. carry on.." He said with a gulp.
And she did...twisting it around effortlessly in her hand, she started in on the other side.
That tantalizing slow movement of her tongue as it tasted it from bottom to top...and when she nearly ran out of vanilla, she switched hands, taking her now chocolate covered thumb and index finger into her mouth, no doubt swirling her tongue along them before removing them with a satisfying pop.
"Castle." She said, bringing it closer to her mouth.
"Huh?"
"You're dripping." She gestured down with her eyes, and then, took nearly half the sandwich into her mouth, and bit down.
"Don't care." He replied, scootching closer, his eyes locked with hers.
She smirked chewing and then popped the rest into her mouth. She swallowed, and then let her eyes wander to his now empty cone, to the puddle by his feet. Licking the last bit from her fingers, she took his wrist, drawing the cone to her, taking it away from him, and then, to his pleasurable horror, pressed her tongue to his sticky flesh, and licked down.
Down with her cold wet tongue to the middle of his forearm.
He stilled, and she could hear the intake of breath as she continued down to his elbow. Before he knew it, she was gone, grinning at him as she licked her lips, and hummed at the taste. She dragged her hand along his thigh slow teasing movements until she reached the cone he dropped on his knee as she licked him clean.
She got up, shaking her head at his breathlessness, and sashaying her hips on her way to the trashcan to throw away the wrapper. Watching him over her shoulder with each movement making sure he could see the wrapper and the empty cone slip from her fingers.
When she sauntered back, a teasing smile on her face he stood up holding out his hand for her and when she took it, he pulled her into his side.
"Couldn't resist my charms could you?" He said pulling her away from the fountain and walking them towards home.
"Your charms?" She looked up at him questioningly "Did you miss the whole ice cream thing, that was all me."
"Yeah, but only because I got you all riled up." He pulled her more snugly into his side. "Admit it. You love me."
"And I have been battling it for years." She laughed "And hey..." She tried to turn them back but he refused to let her go. "You didn't make your wish."
"Oh.. right." He said stopping abruptly and dragging her back to the fountain, where he proceeded to dig in his pockets. "umm..." He said, pulling the insides of his pockets out, and looking at her sheepishly.
"Seriously?"
He shrugged.
"All the money in the world..." She began to mumble as she fished for a quarter.
"Hey.. Looks like you don't have one either!" He protested as she came up empty. "hmm.." He said then, biting his tongue between his teeth and looking suspiciously into the fountain. "Maybe I can.."
"Nooo you don't!" She said clutching at his arm and yanking him away. "You can't use someone else's wish, Castle."
"Borrowing.." He grumbled
"What?" She leant in, as he turned his face away.
"I was merely going to borrow it until I got my own."
Kate crossed her arms and fixed him with a glare.
"Okay, okay..." He put his hands up in surrender. "I'll go get change for a dollar..." He turned taking out his wallet and she watched as his head dipped and he moved things around, stopped and turned back...
"You have got be kidding me."
He shrugged again and she thrust a dollar bill at him before sitting back at the fountain. When he came back, he purposely made an act of rubbing the coin along his leg as if shining it for good luck.
"Oh come on." She scoffed.
"What? Little added luck never hurt anybody." He shrugged.
"Yeah and you rubbing it on your leg imbues it with magical properties that puts you right to the top of the fairy wish list." She shook her head.
"Yes, of course, jeeze Kate have I taught you nothing?"
"Oh look." She pointed over his head laughing "There goes Tinkerbell off to grant wishes."
He sighed "You gonna let me do this or what? If I remember correctly you were the one who invited me here...so..."
She folded her arms watching him. "Fine, make your wish Castle...blow my mind."
"I'll do that later, wish first." He grinned, before he kissed the coin and launched it through the air, watching as it caught the light flipping end over end before it landed with the smallest splash. It sunk down amongst the pool of other wishes and he turned back to Kate.
"Voila." He said holding out his hand, waiting for her.
"Lets go, tinkerboy." She laughed pulling at his fingers. "I want another ice cream sandwich."
Castle stopped, his mouth dropping open before fist pumping the air.
Kate turned just before she reached the vender. "You coming Castle?"
"Oh you know it." He replied jogging over.
"So." She said taking her ice cream sandwich and starting to unwrap it. "What did you wish for?"
His eyes narrowed in that playful way of his as her tongue licked at the sandwich... "Oh..." He said watching the way her mouth curled softly around the ice cream now coating her lips. "...nothing."
A/N: AlwaysCastle: And THAT, my twitter friends.. is how you eat an ice cream sammich. ;)