Inspired by the Jonas Brothers's song "When you Look Me in the Eyes," which I've loved ever since I heard it. It's very beautiful, so you should go listen to it.
Disclaimer: I wish...
When You Look Me In The Eyes
Detective Kate Beckett stood in her apartment looking out a window that faced the building next door. But she was not looking at the building. If one looked closer, they would see she was studying photos and scribbled notes carefully arranged across the glass and shutters. Her heart was searching, searching for her mother's killer. Ever since that night, she had relentlessly dug deeper and deeper. If she could bring her mother's killer to justice, she could get on with her life. Fall in love, get married, raise a family. She had a few relationships in the past, but none had worked out. She knew she had walls, she built them herself, but she wanted someone to tell her she could be more than those walls, someone to invade the fortress in which she had locked her heart. Castle had done that, she thought with a smile. The day he had been a hostage in a bank robbery had been one of the worst of her life. Her blood had dropped to a snail's pace when she felt the explosion rock the street. She had been the first one through the door, her gun drawn and her hoarse voice desperately calling for him, promising herself she would take care of Alexis if he was gone. But when he answered her calls with "Beckett?", it was the loveliest thing she had ever heard in her life. Seeing him alive and unharmed, she had known that there was no way justice for her mother could replace what she felt for him, even if she was just beginning to figure out exactly what she did feel for him.
How many times had their eyes locked over the murder board in the past five years? Yet Beckett was still astounded by what she saw in his eyes. She felt like she could see everything he was; a son, a father, her partner. And there was a promise of "always." And every time, she would get lost in those seas of Mediterranean blue, if she let herself. And sometimes she did. When she looked into his eyes that day in the bank, she knew: this was where she belonged.
After she left to recover from her shooting and the subsequent surgery, Castle waited everyday to hear from her. How long would she keep him waiting? But in the intervening time, he made a decision. When he saw her again, he would tell her how he felt, that he loved her when he could be sure that she would remember. As the first and then the second month passed, Castle found it harder to keep the dark thoughts at bay. She had pushed herself too hard and re-injured herself. She had fallen and bumped her head and she had amnesia. He needed to hear her voice, see her smile. She was the light that pushed the darkness away when he was lacking inspiration or feeling that he had wasted his life with failed marriages and shallow hook-ups.
How many times had he opened his door to see her honey-colored eyes on the other side? Yet every time he was allowed a glimpse of her soul, he was mesmerized. She was hard to read that much was certain. Yet he saw more than who she was; he saw everything she could be and he wanted to help her be those things, but he already loved her. She did not have to "be better" for him. When they were together, side by side, he knew he wanted everything with her.
After that night a year ago, when she shown up at his door soaked from the rain and the ice in his eyes had melted, they had moved forward, as partners in everything now. She had given up her mother's case and he had written the best books he ever had. They supported each other, strengthened each other. Kate knew when he held her that he was never letting go. This, what they had, was forever. So despite the fact that they were technically fighting, sitting on "their" swings, Castle had gotten down on one knee, pulled a diamond ring from his pocket, and asked her to marry him.
And it did not surprise her at all when a breathless "yes" escaped her lips.