About Last Night
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone in regards to Castle; the show and its characters belong to a bunch of people who aren't me. I am merely borrowing the characters for my own amusement. Dance puppets, dance.
Authors Note: This little idea came to me after watching the morning after scene for the eleventy billionth time. This story is dedicated to Valerie, Amanda, Cheryl, and Heike. They are the best people.
Reviews are always appreciated and I thank you for taking the time to read this.
"That was…I mean…I can't believe…"
Giggling, Kate tightened her arm around Rick's chest. "Is the great Richard Castle speechless?"
He chuckled. "Perhaps…but stranger things have happened, like the strong willed Kate Beckett actually giggling."
She tweaked his ear, grinning as he tried to squirm away. "And that will be a secret kept between us."
"Okay! Okay!" After she let go, he rubbed the offended ear. "Jeez, I didn't think you'd abuse me this soon."
Turning on her stomach, she rested her chin on his collar bone, and looked up at him. "Yeah, well, you thought wrong." He smirked before smoothing his face into a gentle, loving smile. When he brushed a strand of hair away from her face, Kate turned to nuzzle his hand, pressing a kiss into his palm.
If Rick was speechless, Kate certainly couldn't come up with the words to do justice to their night together. She'd had no idea what to say when she showed up on his door step, soaked to the bone. But Rick asked the one question she knew she could answer: she wanted him, just him, only him. And thankfully, Rick still wanted her too.
Making love with him was like nothing she'd imagined. The man focused on every detail in his novels and when they solved cases together (well, once he got his silly theories out of the way). But to have all of that concentration focused upon her? It was completely overwhelming.
Now they lay together, skin against skin, wrapped in the softest sheets she'd ever felt, staring at each other. After letting out a breath, Kate bit her lip. "Sooooo…"
"Sooooo…."
"Now what?"
"Well, we could…" Luckily the awkward moment was broken by an even more awkward moment. Kate's stomach growled. Loudly.
"Wow! Kate Beckett both giggles and has gurgling digestive body sounds. What will I find out next?" Rick laughed.
Drawing the pillow from behind her, Kate hit him in the face. "Shut up!"
"So I take it this means I have to feed you?" came his mumbled words from behind the pillow resting over his face.
"Yes, and it better be good!" Kate rose from the bed. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll leave you to forage for food."
She didn't bother with any clothes as she made her way to the en-suite bathroom. Turning back, she caught Rick leering at her. He made no secret of checking out her naked body.
Kate raised her eyebrow, but he didn't even bother to look embarrassed. "So much better than my fantasies."
Shaking her head, she muttered, "Freak," under her breath.
Once in the bathroom, Kate cringed at her reflection in the mirror. Her still drying hair looked like a rat's nest. The rain and tears had caused her mascara to cake under her eyes, giving her the very attractive raccoon look. Quickly, she washed the makeup off her face. The she dug around his cabinets for a blow dryer and hairbrush. She spent a good fifteen minutes brushing out the knots and tangles before she finally got her hair straightened out. When she finally came out, she found Rick nestled under the covers, a pizza box on the bed.
"How did you get pizza so fast? She asked, settling beside him again.
"I'm Rick Castle," he told her in that adorably smarmy voice he sometimes used. "I can get anything."
'You bribed the delivery guy, didn't you?"
"You'd be amazed how fast and hot you can get a pizza when you promise a fifty-dollar tip."
She smacked a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." Opening the box, Rick handed her a slice of pepperoni and olives before he served himself. She watched as he took a gigantic bite. "Oh my gawd," he said with his mouth full. "Thith ith fantasthick."
She smirked as he continued to stuff his face, barely swallowing one bite before taking another. A moment later, he looked over at her. "Wha? Ya don' like ith?" He looked incredibly cute with his puffy cheeks, hair sticking up everywhere, and a little piece of cheese hanging from his mouth.
Leaning over, she wiped the cheese away. "No, the pizza is great. You know…we never did have our movie night."
He grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "That's because we were doing other things."
She dug her elbow into his side. "Well…how about it now?"
Rick stopped midway in grabbing another pizza slice. "You want to watch a movie?"
Shrugging, Kate looked down shyly. "Yeah…I thought…you know…we could have a dinner and a movie feature type thing."
After a moment, he answered with, "Yeah. Okay, that sounds good. Let me pop something in." He sprang from the bed, buck naked, and started rummaging through the cabinet beside the large TV on the wall. This time Kate didn't have to hide her appreciation for his ass as he stood there, because damn! The man had a fine ass.
"Found it!" He exclaimed a minute later, pulling Kate from her dirty thoughts. He popped in the Blu-ray before hopping back into bed. "It's not John Woo but it's even better."
When the infamous blue quote appeared on the screen, Kate eyed the man next to her. "Star Wars?"
"Yeah! I thought this would be a great choice."
"Of course it is, but…" she trailed off as she read the Episode number and title. "But The Empire Strikes Back?"
"I thought it was appropriate. You know, the princess finally gives into her desire for the ruggedly handsome scoundrel."
She could smack him with the pillow or twist his ear again, but that would be too easy. "Not really because the only ruggedly handsome scoundrel here is on the television screen."
"Hmmph."
Rick pursed his lips, and Kate almost laughed at the fact that he was pouting. But she put the pizza on the floor, and snuggled into his side. He immediately relaxed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
They watched the movie in contented silence. Kate paid little attention to the Battle of Hoth. She was much more interested in the feel of Rick's smooth skin under her cheek and hands. She loved both listening to and feeling the rumble of his chuckles during key lines in the movie. And nothing compared to the feeling of safety and happiness she felt being wrapped up in his arms.
At one point, she leaned over him to take a sip of water from the glass on the nightstand when Rick let out an unmanly laugh, and wriggled slightly.
"What was that?" she wondered.
Clearing his throat, he settled down again. "Ummm, nothing. Your thumb just brushed under my arm when you bent over, and I'm, uh…you know…kinda ticklish there."
Kate's felt her eyes widened. "You're ticklish?"
"Only a little."
Oh, this sounded like a challenge to Kate; a great, fun challenge. So when she laid her head on his chest again, and wrapped her arm around him, her hand just happened to wander under his arm where her fingers danced across his skin. Once again, he elicited a high pitched giggle.
"Stop that," he protested.
"Stop what?" she said innocently, keeping her eyes on the screen as Han flew the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field.
He didn't say anything more, and a few minutes later she tickled him again. But this time he snorted a little when he laughed.
That was too priceless; her goofy writer.
"Kate seriously," he tried again. "Knock it off." Though, the threat didn't sound too convincing as his lips kept turning up.
"Okay, fine," she huffed. Two minutes later, her toes brushed up his leg, behind his knee. This time he squealed like a pig, jumping away.
She laughed loud and long. "This is too easy!"
"How would you like it if I tried to find your ticklish spots?"
"Oh, I wouldn't!"
"You keep doing it to me!"
"That's 'cause you shriek like a little girl and snort like Steve Urkel." Kate then did her best impersonation of the sound, breaking out in laughter half way through.
"Let's see how you sound!" And before she knew it, Rick had pounced on her, his fingers unerringly finding her ticklish spot, her stomach. And then she squealed like a little piglet.
"Rick!" She exclaimed in a rather high pitched voice, even she didn't recognize. "Stop it!"
"Never!" He exclaimed before attempting to pin her hands to the bed.
Thus began the Great Tickle War of 2012. Kate and Rick wrestled around the bed, screaming and laughing like a group of children at a playground. He discovered her feet were also ticklish while she found his ribs were particularly sensitive. At one point he managed to pin her underneath him, holding her wrists together above her head while his other hand tortured her torso
"A-a-a-pples! A-pples! Apples!" She finally wheezed out, happy tears streaming down her face.
Rick continued to loom over her, his blue eyes bright and happy. He smiled so widely, his teeth showed and his eyes crinkled with mirth; it was her favorite smile and she'd seen it many times this evening. Leaning down, he brought his hand up to cup her face and gave her long, slow kiss. Rick let go of her hands so she could run her fingers through his hair.
When he finally pulled back, she asked the question that had been on her mind since the movie started. "Were you naked when you answered the door for pizza?"
He gave her a sweet Eskimo kiss before replying, "How do you think I got it for free? I didn't even have to give 'im the bribery tip." She giggled as he pressed his lips to her neck.
Unlike the first two times, their third round of lovemaking was delightful and full of laughter. She'd never been with anyone who could make her laugh in bed, but she found it to be fun and freeing. She no longer cared that she wore no makeup or made a weird sound, somewhere between a hum and gasp, when he kissed between her breasts. It was playful, sweet, and very much them.
The next morning when she awoke, Kate couldn't help the grin that threatened to take over her whole face. She was in Rick's bed, wrapped up in Rick's arms, looking at the mess they had made of the sheets, pillows, and comforter. One pillow had even migrated to the foot of the bed during their wrestling match. When she got up, she couldn't help but hum happily as she strolled to the bathroom, snatching up one of Rick's button-up shirts along the way.
Fifteen minutes later, Kate returned to the bedroom with two mugs of fresh brewed coffee. She felt horrible for the brief moment of panic that settled over his features when he realized she wasn't beside him. But his expression quickly morphed into one of wonder and pure joy.
After reassuring him, that no, their night together was definitely not a dream, she sat next to his legs.
"So you liked it?" she asked almost quietly.
"Yes," he answered with no hesitation or doubt.
Then she finally posed the question that had been bothering her since she woke up. Did he like the whole tickling match? Sure it led to some pretty fantastic sex, but did that still mean it was okay to tickle him? Some guys she'd dated adamantly refused to be tickled, and while Rick was a fun guy, he had limits like every other person. Maybe he didn't like it because he spent so much of the time trying to get away. Maybe there were other, better ways he liked to lead to playful sex…
Maybe she should just ask the damn question.
"Even the part where-"
"Especially that part. I loved that."
And so did she.