Disclaimer: hahaha no. Just borrowing
A/N: This one is for thecoolanonymouswriter, who requested that I write this. Hope you enjoy! Please R&R! Xx-Cassie
Kate brushed her fingertips over the shells, smiling slightly.
Sometimes, he amazed her.
She really had been creeped out by Linus. But she also understood that the lion meant a lot to him. And if she'd learned anything from this relationship, it was that compromise is vital. She'd been prepared to drop the subject. She could live with it.
So when she'd come home to find him acting like an over-sugared child, she'd been-mistakenly-suspicious.
And when she had realized what he had replaced Linus with…well, she could honestly say he had melted her heart. She figured she should have stopped being struck by the tenderness and sweet nature of this man by now. But he never ceased to amaze her. It wasn't all grand romantic gestures. It was the little things. Like the seashells. She couldn't believe he'd kept them for over a year. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised anymore. Yet, she was.
He constantly surprised her.
And she loved that.
She loved that he was at once surprising and reliable. He could be counted on to be there for her and she knew it. She loved that he was her solid ground and she loved that he was….Castle. Once, she'd hated him with a passion. He'd been number one on her list of annoyances. She had wanted nothing more than him out of her life. But he'd stuck around. He had kept finding ways to wiggle back into her life. And, eventually, she'd stopped fighting. She had taken a step back and looked at the whole picture. And she had discovered that he was different. He wasn't that picture she had painted in her mind. He was sweet and strong and funny. He was loyal and special and adorable. He was happy; something she hadn't had a lot of in her life for a long time. And she found herself falling hard.
When-finally-she had found the strength to put everything else aside, to let him in, to give herself over to him, she found it to be so much more incredible than she'd ever even imagined.
And now, here they were. Engaged. Just thinking about it made her smile.
When had she become such a sap?
"Hey."
Kate turned her head at the sound of his voice and smiled.
"Hey," she said. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him, tipping her head back into his shoulder. He kissed her head sweetly.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Us," she replied. "He smiled slightly.
"What about us?" Kate glanced back at the seashells, and then turned in his arms to face him.
"Our story," she whispered. "We've come a long way, Rick."
"We have," he agreed.
"And you know what?" Kate said.
"What?" Kate smiled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his nose, laughing when his face wrinkled adorably in reaction.
"I can't wait to turn the page," she whispered. He palmed the back of her head and kissed her, slowly and deeply.
"How about we start right now?" he said. She laughed as he took her hand and the bedroom door closed with a click.