This was my submission for the Castle TV fanfiction awards. The original was under 1000 words. I've embellished this a bit. I'll warn you ahead of time, there is barely a plot, it is total fluff. No spoilers. Future I guess…just fluffy. No Beta.
Characters are not mine.
They were standing in the elevator, leaving the precinct after a long day. It was the middle of December and Kate was wrapping her scarf around her neck.
"Nice scarf."
"Thanks." She smiled and continued to wind the scarf around her neck.
"Handmade?"
She looked at him suspiciously. "Yes."
"By you?"
She looked away and blushed.
"I thought so."
"Why the sudden interest in my scarf, Castle?"
"Is it wool or acrylic?"
The elevator door opened and they exited into the lobby of the precinct. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked along beside him. He stopped in front of the door and reached for the end of the scarf. "Feels like wool and maybe something else."
She cocked her head to the side and stared at him. "What are you up to?"
"Just curious."
She glared at him. "It's sock yarn, merino wool, cashmere, and nylon."
"So it's strong?"
"What?"
"Well, if it is made for socks it must be sturdy."
She shook her head. "Yeah, I suppose it is strong."
He placed a hand at the small of her back and ushered her out of the precinct onto the snow-covered sidewalks of New York City. She pulled up her shoulders to escape some of the wind and snow. He hailed a cab and held the door while she scooted in.
He said as much to her as to the cabbie, "The Old Haunt, please."
"Castle, I really just want to go home."
"And sit in your cold apartment. All alone. All evening."
"What makes you so sure I'll be 'all alone'?"
He raised his eyebrows.
She smirked. "Did it ever occur to you that I actually enjoy being alone? Especially after a long day of listening to your incessant babbling."
"You wound me, Detective." He paid the cabbie and held the door for her at the Old Haunt. He ordered drinks and soup for both of them and headed downstairs to his office. Kate stopped at the top of the stairs and quirked an eyebrow at him.
He reached a hand out for her to follow him. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."
"You are seriously asking me to do you a favor?"
"Well, it would be for Nikki."
"Oh, well if it's for Nikki, by all means then." She followed him down the steep stairs, not taking his hand.
"I have this really great idea, but I need to try it out and make sure it works before I put it in the book."
"I don't like the sound of this, Castle."
"Trust me."
She rolled her eyes. "What's involved?"
"Your scarf and me." He waggled his eyebrows.
"Excuse me?"
"Come on, Becks. It'll be fun."
She stopped unwinding her scarf and stared at him. "No, I'm not thinking it will be fun at all, Castle."
"Ah Detective, where's your sense of adventure?"
"Ha." She tossed her scarf and jacket over the back of the sofa and tugged off her boots, revealing green and blue striped socks. Castle walked over to the stairs to take the tray from the server and thanked her. He placed the tray on the coffee table and turned on the gas fireplace and the stereo.
"Let's hear your plan, Castle."
"Eat first." He reached for her scarf and ran his fingers along the dark green and blue-flecked wool. "This is a pretty intricate pattern. Was it hard to learn?"
She blew on her mug of soup and sat back into the couch pulling her feet up under her. "My mother taught me to knit when I was nine." She tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and continued. "I found this wool in her knitting basket when I was cleaning out her stuff. She had written the pattern name and my name on the label. It's called a Pilsner Pleating." She sipped on her soup and looked over at him. "Are you thinking of turning Nikki into a knitter?"
"No."
"I'm listening."
He explained what he had in mind while she ate her meal and sipped her drink. He picked up the scarf and stood up, reached out for her hand. "So, are you going to help?"
She took his hand and let him pull her up off the sofa. "Sure Castle, it's not like I have anything better to do, right?" She rolled her eyes, grabbed her beer off the coffee table and took a long swallow.
He sat in the chair and allowed her to tie him to it with her scarf. She wrapped up his hands first and then went around his neck twice with it.
"Can you get your hands loose?"
He tugged and squirmed, but the more he moved the tighter it was around his neck. "No."
She took the ends of the scarf and tied his feet to the legs of the chair. "Feet?"
He wiggled and tugged. "No."
"Ready?"
"Yes."
She took one part of the scarf that was around his neck and moved it up around his mouth as a gag, still leaving some around his neck.
She smiled and walked over to the sofa. Picked up her beer and stared at him. "You'll never get out of that without damaging my scarf."
He nodded, but the more he moved around the tighter it got around his neck. She looked at the clock and then got up and walked over to the bookcase. He was still trying to get loose. He gave her a look of defeat.
"What, are you giving up already?" She dragged her hand along his jaw. "Nikki would never give up that easily." She knelt down in front of him. "I'll tell you what Castle, if you can get out, I'll let you kiss me."
She stood up and turned back to the bookcase and within seconds, he had escaped and had her up against it.
He grinned, wrapped the undamaged scarf around her neck, and pulled her towards him.
She was stunned and just stared at him in awe. "How did you do that?"
"A magician never tells his secrets."
She took the ends of the scarf in her hands to inspect it and he slid his hands down to her waist and pulled her slightly closer.
"Don't tell me you didn't think I was going to escape."
"I didn't think you would."
Now he looked flabbergasted. "Really?"
"Really."
"Does that mean I don't get my kiss?" His thumbs were playing with the top of her jeans finding their way to the soft skin on her waist.
She sucked in her breath and looked at him searching his eyes, she expected disappointment, but what she saw instead was pure delight. "I didn't say that."
He smiled slowly and his whole face brightened. He tugged her slightly closer. "You know I would never make you do something you didn't want to?"
She nodded and let her breath out slowly, her arms still between them, she let go of the scarf, placed her palms on his chest, and slid them up around his neck, she moved a little closer, and his hands were now circling her and resting on her lower back. She let her fingers play with the hair along his neck, she kissed his cheek softly and then kissed his neck and pulled on his earlobe playfully with her mouth, and he pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her. She chuckled and settled her head on his shoulder.
He didn't expect this, he had only planned on a chaste kiss, but this was even better. He brought his hand up, ran it over her long curls, and started swaying with her to the soft jazz playing in the background.
After what seemed like hours but in reality was only a few minutes she pulled away from him slightly. Not yet ready to look at him she brushed her palm against his cheek and kissed his chin and then closed her eyes and took in a breath, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.
She let her breath out slowly, she wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but at the same time she didn't want to move. This felt right. And warm. She was finally warm after hours of working out in the cold, damp New York winter streets. "Thank you, Castle."
"I'm not sure what you're thanking me for Beckett, but you are most welcome. I should be thanking you."
She let out a soft chuckle, her head resting on his shoulder, as they continued to sway to the holiday jazz on the stereo. "Did you get the research you needed?"
"I did, and then some." He continued to hold her as they danced, occasionally brushing a curl from her face and caressing her back. "So were you thanking me for letting you help me do research, for being part of 'The world of Nikki and Rook'?"
"No, but yeah, thanks for that too."
He smiled, placed a kiss to her cheek, and hummed along to the music.
She let out another soft sigh. "I was thanking you for bringing me here, feeding me, making me laugh, and keeping me warm."
His breath caught and he wrapped his arms around her just a little tighter. "I think I just got an early Christmas present."
She chuckled and whispered into his ear, "You've no idea."
I'm not really intending to add to this. But you know how that goes…the muse has been 'among the missing' lately. If something brilliant should miraculously appear, you might get another chapter.