Written for the Summer Hiatus Comment Ficathon over at livejournal.
Prompt (from fbi_woman):
He said sit back down where you belong
In the corner of my bar with your high heels on
Sit back down on the couch
Where we made love the first time and you said to me
There's something, something about this place
Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face
Something, something about my cool Nebraska New York guy
There's something about, baby, you and I
Lyrics from "You and I" by Lady Gaga
Note: None of these characters are mine
Something About This Place
A pajama clad Kate wandered out of the bedroom, heading to the kitchen with thoughts of getting dinner started. As she turned the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight greeting her. Sitting at the kitchen table, wearing his very best suit, was Richard Castle.
"Well, hello there, Handsome," she greeted, wandering over towards him. He smiled up at her but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Looking closer, she realized his hands were fidgeting and his heel was tapping rapidly on the floor.
"Go get dressed. Tonight is date night." Choosing not to question his agitated state, she smiled again, and headed back to the bedroom.
This time, when she emerged from the bedroom, she was no longer dressed in flannel, but an outfit far more fitting for the evening. He smiled more convincingly this time, and kissed her briefly before circling around to stand behind her. Slowly he covered her eyes with a silk scarf and tied it behind her head.
"Ah, it's one of those dates," she joked. "You're lucky I trust you, Big Guy."
He leans down close to her ear and hovers there for a moment before whispering, "The luckiest."
Twenty minutes later, he had guided her out of the apartment, into a car, and to the evening's destination. She heard the click of a familiar door closing, and then his footsteps as he came to stand beside her. Reaching over, he gently removed her blindfold. Kate blinked for a moment, adjusting to the light. As she began to look around, she found herself somewhere very familiar indeed.
She was standing in the middle of her old apartment. The apartment she had moved out of two years ago, when she'd agreed to move in with Castle. The apartment he had told her he was subletting to some college kids.
She was standing next to her couch, two feet from her coffee table and ten feet from her former kitchen. She was surrounded by the furniture he had told her he had packed up and placed in storage. Standing there, where she hadn't stood in two years, was like taking a giant step into the past.
"Rick?" She turned to him, her face full of questions. Castle stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked at the floor, far too nervous to meet her eyes.
"I know I said I would pack this stuff up. And I planned on it. Really. But when it came time, I couldn't bear to do it. There's something about this place. The kitchen where you kissed me for the first time. The couch where you let me hold you that first night. The bed where we, well, you know. I couldn't box those memories up. So I kept the place. I come here now and then when I'm stuck on a chapter. It helps me think."
As he spoke, Kate tugged on his jacket sleeves until he relented and pulled his hands out of his pockets. It wasn't until she entwined her fingers with his that he met her eyes. What he found there in the slightly teary depths gave him the courage he'd been looking for.
"This is where we had our beginning. Our true beginning. Where you and I became us. There's just something about this place. Which is why we're here tonight. I figured, this would be a fitting place to ask." He dropped to one knee, and reached into his pocket.
"Kate, will you marry me?"
Thanks for reading!
