So most of your Christmases are over, but mine isn't! Plus I didnt' have internet to upload this story sooner. But hey, Christmas or not, we can still appreciate some adorable Castle fluff, right? Hope you like it! It's my first Castle story so who knows. Wrote it pretty quickly.
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I wish.
Kate was going crazy. Her mind was going in a thousand directions and her body was going in its own completely different set of directions. It was nearing nine at night on Christmas Eve and her husband wasn't back from the store. Why he had to go to the store this late on Christmas Eve was beyond her, but apparently the potato dish just wouldn't be the same without green onions, and without the potato dish tomorrow's dinner would be ruined. Leave it to Richard Castle to forget to buy ingredients this late in the game.
She smirked quietly to herself, remembering the shock on his face when he realized his one missing ingredient to what he had promised her would be the best Christmas dinner she had ever had.
And so while she waited, Kate was busying herself. She was going to give him his big present tonight, because she simply couldn't fathom waiting any longer to see his reaction.
She had started with the bookcase, hoping to alphabetize it by author, before remembering that he had already done that. She went to clean up their bedroom, but found that he had already done that this morning while she had gone to the precinct one last time before he dragged her off to the Hamptons for the next two weeks. She had emptied every trash in the house, dusted the den, and even reorganized the shelves in the fridge by compatible flavors.
He had been gone for about two hours now, much too long for her to believe that all he was getting was green onions. He was either up to something, or he was in some serious trouble.
She shook her head and took a deep breath. There was no need to open her phone for the tenth time and then not end up calling him again. He was probably out searching for some much-too-extravagant gift that would just make her roll her eyes at his inner 12-year-old boy. Or some piece of jewelry that she would tell him to take back because it was just too big and too flashy.
She was just taking a load of underwear and other delicates out of the dryer to fold when she heard him come in the door, whistling a tune that sounded suspiciously like "Frosty the Snowman." He too heard her in the next room as she slammed the dryer door shut, and came sneaking into the laundry room towards her turned back.
"Richard Castle." Her sharp voice ran through the loft and he nearly jumped.
She turned around and smirked at his wide eyes, shocked face, and hands he had help up in the air, before she busted into laughter at the sight.
His lip jutted out in a pout.
"Heeeyy… Kaaaate. What did you do that for?" he whined. "I wasn't trying to be scary or anything."
"Sure you weren't. I don't understand how you still think that you can sneak up on me. When has that ever worked?"
"You know… that, that one time."
"Kate's eyebrows were practically reaching her hairline with the look she was giving him that so silently but simply screamed, "Really Castle? And when was that?"
The look was so adorable that he couldn't help his own cheesy grin from replacing the glare he was trying to give her.
Castle closed the gap between them and reached around from behind her, guiding his arms under her own and pulling her close. He bent his head down to place his lips in the crevice just below the back of her jaw.
"Mmmmm," Kate hummed.
"Do you forgive me Mrs. Castle?"
"Are you ever going to get tired of calling me that?"
"Nope."
"I suppose you're forgiven. Consider yourself lucky, I'm in a good mood."
"Are you? You look a little frazzled to me. Plus I noticed that my whip cream has now been placed on the bottom shelf next to the syrup and the jams. And I'm pretty sure my toaster didn't look that clean when I bought it."
She blushed slightly.
"Well maybe if you hadn't been gone so long…"
Her head turned to inquire where he had been and she loosened his arms so she could face him. When their bodies were turned towards each other he pulled her back into his chest and placed a kiss on her parted lips.
"Excited to see me? Did you have any… activities in mind for us to do?"
He pulled her closer to him and she giggled at his dirty mind.
"Richard, why do you have to turn everything sexual?"
"So I can't call you Mrs. Castle but you can call me Richard twice in one night? That's no fair," he said, his voice laced with a familiar taunting quality.
"Besides, what's wrong with a little fun? The house is ours until the whole gang gets here for dinner tomorrow. Think of it as one of your Christmas presents."
"I can't have sex with you on a regular basis? When did it become a Christmas thing? Besides, aren't you a bit early? It's still Christmas Eve. Still have a few hours left before present time."
She raised herself up onto the tips of her toes and pulled him into what soon became searing kiss.
He pulled away and chuckled, low and husky.
"Where did that come from?"
She bit her lip, and backed up from him, trying to keep herself from bouncing up and down with happiness. Here she was, scorning him for trying to get an early Christmas present, and she could barely keep herself from telling him about his own. He had paused, waiting for her to answer, but he soon continued to tease her.
"Besides, you know if you keep kissing me like that, we're not gonna last for another few hours. That particular present will end up coming early."
Castle stepped towards Kate, placing his hands on her hips and drawing her back in for another kiss. This one started out slower, sweeter, but hardly 30 seconds later she was sitting atop the washing machine, legs wrapped around him, and they were going at it like teenagers.
She placed her hands upon his chest and pushed him back and dropped her legs, all while still smiling. She blushed furiously and, biting her bottom lip again, dropped her head down to stare at the floor.
"What?"
He placed a finger under her chin, and guided her face up until they locked eyes.
"Kate…? What's up?"
She took a deep breath in, and leaned forward to take his large hands into her own. They stood there for a second, both smiling like idiots, her out of nervous excitement and him out of a mix of adoration for her sudden shyness and anxious confusion.
"I have to tell you something."
Her voice was quiet, but clear and steady nonetheless. He nodded, and waited for her to continue.
"Rick I… I'm late."
He titled his head to the side and shot her a look of confusion.
"With present shopping? Hey, I don't care, all I need is you."
He leaned in for another kiss, but she stuck her hand out to meet his chest so that he couldn't lean any farther forward. Taking his hands again, she shot him another look, this one silently telling him to stop and think.
"No Rick. I'm late."
She paused, and saw him continue to look confused.
"By about two weeks now…"
Something clicked, but his mind couldn't quite pull the answer out yet. It was his turn to look at the floor, lost in deep thought. She continued.
"Which means no wine for me at dinner tomorrow. And we'll have to figure out this coffee thing. Maybe I'll just have to settle for decaf. But ugh, even that might be complete torture…"
She giggled when his head shot up and his eyes met hers to confirm his sudden conclusion. He pulled her off of the washer and into his arms, spinning her around until she squealed with laughter.
"Riiickk! Stop! Oh God please stop!"
He stopped and placed her back onto solid ground.
"You're pregnant?"
She nodded and bounced on her toes, unable to keep her excitement in.
"You're really pregnant? Which our child?"
"Yes, Castle."
"Hey. Stop it with the name changing."
"Well you're the writer aren't you? Riddles are your thing. It shouldn't take you so long to put these things toge-"
He took her face into his hands, cutting her off with another kiss. Into this kiss he poured everything he was feeling, hoping that she would understand that he had no other way to properly express the way his heart was souring.
She melted into his arms and closed her eyes. The kiss wasn't sexual at all, just… warm. And lovely. And perfect.
They pulled back only when oxygen became overwhelmingly necessary.
"Merry Christmas Rick."
"Merry Christmas Kate."
He untangled the hand that was in her hair and and, bringing it between them, slid it lower, to what would soon be a round bump, but was still her unbelievably flat stomach.
"Merry Christmas little one."
He pulled his family close, and they stood there, swaying in silence, lost in the most beautiful Christmas present either of them could have asked for.
Review? Did you like it?
P.S. Constructive criticism is always appreciated too.
Hope you all have a good rest of the holidays!