Title: Noticing
Author: Floss Aus
Pairing: Rick C Kate B
Rating: T, just suggestion of adult emotions/actions.
Summary: A post Always 4x23 look at Beckett and Castle noticing small and big things about each other
Spoilers: Up to and including Always 4x23
Disclaimer: ABC and Andrew Marlowe own them, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic inhabit them and I'm just borrowing them. I' promise to return them all except Fillion
Feedback: OH YES PLEASE, seriously love it! I'm new to the Castle fan-fic world.
He notices the curve of her back. The smooth skin that he traces his fingers down, gentle and tender and then hungry and needing. He'd felt it before, checking for a wound, but now as it happened then, his fingers shake.
She notices the strength is his arms. He held her before, but not like this, not this way and it takes her breath away. He lifts her clean off the ground and she feels nothing but protected and safe, his clothing betraying the powerful arms that hide beneath them. She wants them closer, pulls him harder.
He notices the bruises. The marks of the fight she briefly mentioned, flaring in the daylight. The water not washing away their dark blue flourish. He says nothing, but sees them none the less.
She notices his ease. His home a sanctuary she know he adores. He moves with calmness around the room, brewing coffee, collecting clothes, a smile never leaving his face.
He notices her nerves. She is unable to stand still, moving around the room constantly, and he's charmed by it. Kate Beckett was quite possibly the world's hardest person to unnerve and here she stands, awkward and unsure.
She notices his love for his daughter. Of course, she knew how he loved Alexis before, but now, she sees it up close and personal. He beams when she enters a room, he is pride personified and he can't contain himself around her. The joy she brings him is almost daunting.
He notices her fitful sleeping. She wakes regularly with a start, occasionally with her hand clasping the small wound on her chest. He knows it doesn't go away, the sound, the pain, the feelings. It would be naive to think his presence in her life would make everything perfect, but damn if he isn't going to try.
She notices his concentration face. The moment when the muse hits, he scampers, the keys clicking faster than she imagined possible, his chin resting low. He sits in almost any location, but prefers his office, she can see that now. At an especially tricky moment, she'll catch his chin jutting out in frustration it takes all her will power to resist him in those moments.
He notices how she puts up with his mother. Martha is no wall flower and when the opportunity to interject into their conversation presents itself, she will find a way. Kate smiles though, listens with grace and humour and smiles knowingly at him.
She notices how bashful he becomes. Instead of ego and boasting, he is humble, almost protective of their new status. Martha and Alexis gently tease them, but he dives in front of their barbs for her, a gentleman she always suspected.
He notices her stubbornness. Of course, Kate Beckett was stubborn, this was no great secret. But her determination to be brave and independent is so maddening, so frustratingly consistent that he can't even blame her when she heads for the safety of her apartment.
She notices his persistence. A knock on the door, a bottle of wine, and the proclamation that she wouldn't be driving him away, it immediately drew her back into his arms.
He notices her tears. The mascara running, a side she never shows. He holds her steady, knowing this is no picnic, that it will still hurt them but damn it, did he love her.
She notices his masculinity. It's odd, she knows, but because of who she is, because of her job, many men before have knelt to her power. He stands tall though, charges at her and demands nothing but the best she wants to be. Nothing but the best they both deserves and it's sexy and manly and drives her wild.
He notices her return to the precinct. Careful and considered, wanting to avoid the weights that dragged her down, but knowing, finally knowing, that he would be there to hold her up. The desk is hers and as she sits down, he notices the entire beauty of Katherine Beckett.
She notices him bring her coffee. A routine unchanged, a secret between them putting a spring in his step. He practically had to beg, borrow and steal to get back into the building but now, as he sits in front of her, a smirk dancing on his face, she notices the entire handsomeness of Richard Castle.