Disclaimer: Still don't :(

Castle glanced at the clock, reaffirmed the time before turning back to the start screen and taking a player's stance, ready to finally beat his virtual opponent. He took a few practice swings, his mii character mimicking each swipe in almost perfect unison. The wrist strap swung freely, a slight touch of over confidence keeping him from heeding the small warning; lose his grip - not likely. Ending his quick warm up, he began the game at the press of a button.

The match progressed point after point, until he and his CG opponent found themselves tied for the game and tiny beads of sweat creased his brow. He raised his arm high, ready to dole out his finest moves. A quick service, followed by the sound of virtual strikes as the tiny ball bounced back and forth in the game world. His palms grew slick as his lungs began to grow a bit winded. Castle swung low. The virtual paddle connected. The sound of shattering ceramic froze him in place.

He stared straight ahead, barely registering as his virtual opponent scored the match point and his mii hung its head in shame. He forced his gaze down to his empty hand still curved in a lose grip and up towards the table, now devoid of one blue piece of pottery. He straightened up and made a beeline towards the wreckage, his mind already flying to potential stories. No dog. Or cat. No kids. Ghost was out and no way to blame it on an earthquake. He searched his surroundings.

The window.

The wind.

Yes, yes the wind. He threw open the window to the outside world, letting in the sounds of the street life below.

He collected the shards, praying for steady hands and good amount of super glue. His frantic search through the kitchen drawers ended with a half dried tube of the sticky goo in one hand as he made a mad dash back to the couch. Another glance at the clock only added on the pressure. Time suddenly was not on his side. He started in on the jigsaw mess in a rapid frenzy, wincing as the sharper pieces cut into his skin.

The key turned in the lock, startling him into a rather nasty slice. He pulled back the injured hand and tried to sooth the wound, keeping his attention focused on the injury as the sound of keys hitting the entry table and the tap of heels heralded her arrival.

"Castle, why is the wind-what happened to my vase?"

Castle lifted sheepish eyes to Kate's, and quickly went over the few details of his tall tale. "The wind knocked it over."

"The wind?" She raised a skeptical brow and glanced over at the TV screen the game still left on the loss screen.

He searched for a reasonable solution. "I, uh, needed fresh air, after overdoing it with the game there and, well this big gust just blew right in, toppled this poor thing right over" he paused as she returned her attention to him, her skeptical brow still raised high. "I was just about to fix it but your, uh, super glue is about empty and evidently I'm all thumbs today." He held out his cut finger for emphasis, grateful that at least one part of this story was true.

Kate shook her head and started off towards the bathroom, reemerging moments later with a first aid kit in hand. She took a place beside him on the couch, reaching for his injured hand.

"I appreciate the thought, Rick, but I think it's best we just cut our losses on this one at least for the sake of your hands," she stated, cleaning and dressing the minor cut before, working to clear the broken remains of the vase into the nearest trash can. Returning to the couch, she curled up beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Besides, it's not your fault it broke."

The twinge of guilt pressed against his conscious and his gaze involuntarily shifted to the trash can. The words warred against the silence to find entrance into the world. He glanced down at her form, watching as she traced soft figures over his hand. He swallowed hard. Sought out another solution.

His bucket list.

That's it.

He'd tell her.

Eventually.

Preferably, when they are both old and grey.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it, despite it being a bit late in the game. I don't know why it took so long for my mind to come up with this one, I guess it was too stuck on the future fic ideas that didn't think about looking back into the past, lol. A thank you to you guys and to Dmarx. None of this would be possible or worth it without either of you :)

Until, next time :)