A/N: Dedicated to my beloved Jennifer on this, the day of her birth. How oddly appropriate that this is the fic that you wanted days before our favorite couple get married.
But if stars shouldn't shine
By the very first time
Then dear it's fine, so fine by me
'Cause we can give it time
So much time with me
- The XX, "Stars"
He's so focused on her conspiring that he doesn't notice it might not be a bad thing.
She's been wrapping up a lot of phone calls really quick, minimizing browser windows and tilting her phone away from him for the better part of a week before he starts to get worried.
Castle's just shown up at the precinct one day when he spots her in the break room on her phone, wearing a path in the ancient floor as she paces back and forth.
"There's really no way? Even if there's a substantial donation involved?" Kate's saying as he nears the room. Her back is to him, just a few more steps before she pivots to head back his direction and he wedges himself on the thin strip of wall beside the door. She turns, deep in thought, her forehead furrowed in thought as she chews on her bottom lip. He's really not hidden at all and as soon she looks up – just as he's realizing it, she does and her eyes widen. "I'll have to call you back," she hastily taps her finger on the screen and pockets the device.
"Everything okay?" he asks, trying to remain casual but he's sure that his curiosity is bleeding out of the words.
"Yeah, just…trying to get info to chase down a lead."
He should be glad that all of their work on being open and honest with each other means that she can't lie to him to save her life but it just leaves him unsettled.
He's so focused on her planning that he doesn't notice that other people might be involved.
It starts at work, finds her sitting by the boys' desks, the three of them with their heads bowed together like they're sharing a secret. He hurries up to them, hoping to catch a tidbit of their conversation but his footsteps are too obvious and they break apart before he gets there.
"Hey, what's going on?" he directs the question at his fiancée, watches for any signs that she's evading but Ryan jumps in with the answer, rattling off the new info they've found on their latest suspect, Espo right behind him with a few things he's uncovered. It's so effortless and believable that he focuses on them and doesn't notice Kate's sigh of relief.
The next day he comes out of his office to find his daughter and fiancée in a similar position in the kitchen, heads leaned towards one another as they murmur in low voices. Kate squeezes Alexis's arm affectionately before they grin at each other and Kate breaks away. They startle to notice him across the room, but move off at a leisurely pace, his daughter towards the fridge and Kate towards him.
"I'm going out for a run," she tells him as she moves past, her hand coming out to sweep her fingers along his shoulder.
"'Kay," he calls out distractedly, heading for the kitchen.
He leans his forearms on the bar, waiting for Alexis. When she shuts the refrigerator door, she rolls her eyes at her eager father but says nothing, simply twists the cap off her water and takes a sip.
"So, whatcha guys talking about?"
"Um," she hedges, tucking a strand of hair behind an ear. "Well, Kate asked me if I'd rather do some of the stuff she and her bridesmaids are doing instead of hanging out with the guys. And I told her yes."
"Oh, good! Kate and I talked about it a few days ago and I was hoping she would ask you." His enthusiasm causing his daughter to smile in relief.
"Be back in about an hour," Kate calls from the front door.
He jogs over to her to plant a smacking kiss to her lips and she's laughing as he pulls back.
"What was that for?"
"For being so good to Alexis."
Her eyes soften and she smiles at him, wide and sweet. "Of course, Castle. She's family."
He has to kiss her again for that, a little more insistent, a little less than decent considering Alexis isn't that far away. Kate pushes him away, laughing again, the happiness that falls from her lips sparkling in her eyes.
"I have to get going but," she steps closer and drops her voice, "save that for when I get back."
He's so busy imagining what he can add to that when she gets back that he completely misses the conspiratorial wink between the two women.
He's so focused on her that he doesn't notice where they're going.
She's been letting him spoil her the last couple of weeks. He never really has, always erred on the practical side of things because that's more her style. He's not sure if it's their wedding or the fact that she's finally, actually, blissfully free of the dark shadow that was her mother's unsolved murder but she's not questioning the expensive dinners or the unnecessary overlarge town cars with privacy partitions that he's been indulging in as of late.
She seems rather pleased with the latter right now, her hand skating up his inner thigh and her lips at his throat. He grips a hand at her hip to tug her closer, her arm wrapping around his neck as her lips find his, and he hauls her into his lap. The solid warmth of his almost-wife in his arms has him wanting to tell the driver to take them home, forget about where they're headed.
Except that where they're headed is their rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner for their wedding. Because – holy shit – tomorrow he marries Kate Beckett. That remembrance has him surging into her, trapping her bottom lip between his teeth to pull a moan from her. She fists her hands in his hair to hold him in place, tilts her head back to offer the creamy expanse of her neck and he heeds the invitation. His hand travels up her leg, under the hem of her dress, until his fingers brush against her lace-clad hip. He follows the edge of the material between her legs, her thighs falling open to grant him better access. He gently sinks his teeth around the cord of muscle in her neck, knows it's one of her favorite spots and it has her hips bucking against his hand, needy moans spilling from her mouth.
The car shifts, makes a lazy arch that's distinctly different than the traffic it's been navigating and as much as Castle wants to continue this exercise, he's sure they're about to be cut short. As the car glides to a stop, Kate groans, dropping her forehead to his.
"Raincheck?"
He withdraws his hand from under her dress slowly, his thumb skimming the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, relishing her shiver. "Definitely."
She runs her hands through his hair, smoothing the stands back down from the damage she caused as he adjusts his shirt collar, pulls her skirt back over her legs. She reaches over to knock on the window, the driver swinging the door open a minute later. She shakes her head at the ridiculousness of it, a code to let the man know they're decently dressed but hey, it's their wedding, if their hands weren't all over each other all the time, she'd be worried.
She grins in triumph as she exits the car, shares her victory with the driver that she slipped the address change to for a moment and then turns as Castle steps onto the sidewalk, confusion wrinkling his forehead.
"Where are we?"
"Where does it look like?"
"This is the planetarium, Kate."
"Indeed it is."
"But I thought that we were-"
"I know what you thought but you were wrong. Now come on." She pulls on his hand, giggling at him as he stumbles over his own feet, too caught up in staring at the globe in the glass box. He's heard her giggle before, relishes when the weightless sound spills out of her throat but this one seems different. Oh, she's pleased with herself, her eyes lit up with delight and the tip of her tongue trapped between her teeth as she watches him follow her, still completely awestruck.
The lobby door is opened for them, an older man in a suit greeting her with a warm, "Good evening, Mrs. Castle," and his knees practically give out on him.
"I told you, Charles, not until tomorrow," she corrects with a grin.
"Oh, I know, just getting you used to it." Charles winks at her. "So this must be Mr. Castle." He extends a hand.
"Rick," he blurts out, taking the man's hand in the sloppiest handshake of his life.
They laugh at him, soft chuckles of amusement and the gray haired man takes pity on him. "Shall we let him out of his misery now?"
"Please do," Kate answers, threading her fingers through his as they follow the man up the stairs and across a catwalk to a set of double doors. Charles pokes his head just inside a door for a moment, trades a few words with someone on the other side before turning and nodding to Kate.
She steps in front of him, taking a hold of his other hand so that both are joined together. "Castle, I know that I shot down your idea to get married in space. Multiple times," she adds with a grin, "But I know that you were really excited about it. So, while we can't get married there, would you join me for dinner?"
Right on cue, the doors behind her open and he's bombarded with stars and galaxies twinkling at him, a perfect backdrop for his gorgeous fiancée. All of his breath is stolen from him as the enormity of what she's done for him collides with his consciousness and in this moment he has absolutely no words for his muse. Or maybe he has too many of them. Either way, nothing rolls off his tongue and he crashes his mouth to hers in answer, her hands rising up to cup his cheeks as his find purchase on her hips. They pull back to share a private moment with foreheads touching before she collects both of his hands in hers again and backs him into the auditorium.
The place erupts with applause as they enter and Castle is swept into hugs from his friends and family, everyone in on this except for him apparently. Kate finds her way back to his side eventually, a soft smile brimming with love curving up the corners of her mouth.
"You're incredible," he tells her, the compliment causing her to dip her chin down. "Twice in two years you've managed to plan things right under me?" He's shaking his head at her in mock disappointment as she raises her face back up, pride shining in her eyes.
"It was easier last time because you were all drugged up. I was positive you had caught on to this."
"I really didn't. I noticed a few odd things in the last couple of weeks but in all the chaos, I hadn't had a chance to ask you about it."
"You like it?" she asks, suddenly shy.
"I love it," he assures her, pulling her close to kiss away her worried frown, pulling back when he feels her smile against him.
"C'mon, the show's about to start." She grabs his hand to lead him down an aisle. There's a blanket laid out, plates of finger sandwiches and fruit set up as well a bottle of wine and two glasses. She settles on one of the cushions, motions for him to take the other. She's barely poured them wine when the lights dim and a voice booms out across the room.
The ceiling bursts with stars and they're transported into space.
"How?" he manages to ask as the lights come back up.
She shrugs, reaching for her forgotten wine. "We made a donation." She takes a sip of the dark liquid and he's momentarily distracted by the ripple of her throat.
But then what she said registers. "We?"
She nods, setting her glass down again. "I made the donation under Rick and Kate Castle."
She's made him speechless for the second time in the evening.
I'd love to know what you think.
A/N the second: Thank yous to Bean and Lou for looking this over and also to google for it's wealth of knowledge on Hayden Planetarium. Even if I never could figure out how exactly you enter that sphere.