"Why don't you wear bracelets?" he asked her randomly one morning, clear out of the blue a few months back.
He was curious. Rick Castle always was, but even more so when it came to Kate Beckett.
She looked up at him, her hand in his as he pressed a quick kiss to the inside of her wrist. In all the time that they'd known each other, he didn't think he'd ever seen her wear anything other then her mother's ring – on a chain – and her father's watch. He wonders why she never sports anything else on a daily basis.
"Jewelry isn't really part of the job, Castle," she told him. "It gets in the way."
"Something simple, though. Meaningful, to match the rest of the things you wear."
"Wheels turning up there, Rick?" she asked him, tapping her pointer finger to his temple.
"You're birthday's coming up. Christmas, too. Then there's Valentine's day and – "
She cuts him off with a kiss to the lips, silencing him effectively, wonderfully.
"Don't worry about it, Castle. I have everything I need, right here."
"Why detective, I love when you get all cliché and cheesy on me."
Castle followed behind Kate into the loft as she shook her heavy winter coat from her body, half melted snow falling from the wool to the floor. He took it from her, hanging it in the closet, and then following her lead by removing his own jacket. She took off her scarf and gloves, too, setting them on the back of the couch before relaxing into the plush cushions.
Christmas Eve was winding down, only a few hours left until Christmas, and then the New Year would follow. They'd just returned from a dinner that Ryan and Jenny had hosted. They decided to cut out a little early; Kate looked exhausted and with the snow coming down like it was, they didn't want to get stuck in that small apartment with all those people.
Kate was joined on the couch just as she was kicking off her high heels – he wondered how she had managed to stay standing for the majority of the night, never mind not slip and fall on the slick city sidewalks. When she was more comfortable, she pulled her legs up and curled into him, sighing contently.
"Don't go falling asleep on me, now."
"Mm," she mumbled quietly. "Literally."
A small laugh rumbled through his chest. She looked up at him for a few moments, eyes speaking tones of happiness and contentment, before closing them and letting her head fall to his shoulder.
"Kate, if you're sleepy, then we should get you to bed."
"No, I just want to stay here with you. Few more minutes."
He moved his arm from under her to settle around her small frame, hand coming to rest in her hair. She'd straightened it for the party, but the melted snow had wet it and caused it to curl slightly; his favorite look on her. No matter, she was always beautiful to him.
Slowly, he moved his hand from her hair to rest at her shoulder, tapping her gently.
"Hmm," was her only response.
"I have something to give you," he told her.
"Christmas is tomorrow, Castle. Wait 'til then."
"No," he said, moving slowly from underneath her. "I want you to have this tonight."
"Okay," she responded, watched him get up and head for the office, then to the bedroom. She wove her brow in confusion; they'd put out all the gifts under the tree earlier today. Had he gotten her something else through the course of the day?
As he reemerged, he held a box wrapped in festive paper with a simple ribbon tied around it, bow sitting on top. The box was about the six of his hand and he handed it to her as he sat back on the couch, facing her now. Watching her, awake now, wondering what was so important that it couldn't wait until Christmas morning.
"This is my Christmas Eve gift," he told her. "I know we said we weren't going to do them this year since Alexis won't be here until tomorrow, but I'm so excited, Kate. Open it."
They had in fact said that, but she couldn't deny him this, not when he looked so blissfully excited. Not when his eyes lit up much like the tree in the corner of the room and his smile reached said eyes.
She undid the bow and tore gently at the paper; he'd obviously made it easy to open, not too much tape. When all the remnants had been tossed to the couch, a palm sized, white box sat in her hand with a dainty little insignia on the top, a brand symbol, she assumed. It wasn't one she was familiar with.
Kate looked up one more time before opening the box; she met Castle's eyes and he simply smiled wider – was that possible right now? – and nodded for her to continue. She lifted the lid on the box and was unable to hold in a gasp as her heart leapt into her throat and oh, wow.
"Rick, I – "
It was a bracelet, some variation of a charm bracelet, she assumed. Seven block charms with small letters inscribed on them sat on either side of the center. The charms spelled out 'marry me,' and in the middle of the two words, looped around the bracelet, was a simple, beautiful diamond ring.
Tears sprung to her eyes, her free hand covered her mouth and she was just so surprised and happy and overwhelmed and oh –
When, exactly, did he get down on one knee?
There he was, kneeling in front of the couch, glassy eyes mirrored hers and it seemed that they'd both been rendered speechless.
"Kate, I'm so enthralled by you and everything you do, everything you are. You know how to keep my steady. You're my partner, and I love you so much. So, Kate Beckett, will you marry me?"
She can't hold her tears back anymore as she nods her head quickly, mumbling some variation of a 'yes' as put the box down on the cushions before moving into his arms and pressing her lips to his.
"Yes, absolutely," she told him again, between kisses. "I love you too, so much."
He broke away from her for a few moments; enough time to take the ring off the bracelet and slip it onto her finger. She glanced down at it and then back up to him.
"It's gorgeous, Rick."
"Lanie and Jenny helped, then your dad approved it. And this whole thing," he told her, chuckling. She smiled back, knowingly.
"Did everyone know?"
"Everyone's known for awhile now. Everyone knew at the party tonight that when we got home, I was going to ask you."
"Oh, so if I said no, it wouldn't reflect very well on you, hmm?"
"You weren't going to say no," he insisted, wrapping his arms tighter around her, pulling her closer.
"Very sure of yourself there."
"You wouldn't have. I know you."
He leaned in to kiss her again, gently before pulling away to situate them back on the couch.
"And now, you have a bracelet to wear and we can add little charms to it as time goes on. That makes it meaningful, like everything else you wear."
"Rick, anything and everything from you is meaningful," she told him sincerely.
He picked up the box from were it still rested on the couch and took the bracelet out of the box and clasped it into place on her wrist. Once it was there, she fiddled with it for a few moments.
"You really thought you had to spell it out for me, huh?"
"Well, I figured we've been playing it subtle for the entirety of our relationship. I wanted to take a more direct route this time."
"Mission accomplished," she said, smiling against his lips as he pulled her into his lap. "Thank you, Rick. I love you."
"Love you, too"
A/N: I debated back and fourth for a good while if I wanted to post this, but then decided just to go ahead and do it. The bracelet I'm referencing to in this is a Pandora bracelet. I don't know if you've ever heard of them - I hadn't until my younger sister told me she wanted a charm for hers for her high school graduation. I went into the store and looked at these little charms and this idea just kinda popped into my head. Anyways, let me know what you think! :)