A/N: And so we begin the Winter Hiatus and another journey. This little story popped into my head a few weeks ago and I thought now would be a perfect time to share it with you all. My usual choice of genre is angst, but this will be mostly fluff and happiness and perhaps a little smut in the end. :) So here it is, my entry for the Castle Winter Ficathon 2014. Happy reading!

Big thanks to all of my cheerleaders for constantly reminding me why I write. :)

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over anything created by the Castle team.

Ab Initio

Ab Initio- From the beginning (Latin)

"Hold my hand, never let go.
Be it tiring,
be it painful
still, hold me tight.
Draw me closer to our dreams,
sleep to every moment I'm awake,
color my life with rainbows
and kiss me -
kiss me like there's no tomorrow.
Touch my nose with yours,
fill these gaps of my fingers,
sing me the melody I so long to hear
and together -
together we'll stand from the edge of forever,
together we'll walk through the shores,
together we'll sail the ocean upon all the odds
and right now, right there
love me -
love me like you never did", she said."
― Jelord Klinn Cabresos

November 3rd, 2015

Richard Castle is a romantic at heart. He prides himself in knowing that he can still surprise Kate Beckett after close to eight years of knowing her. Even after a year of being married to her—yes, Kate Beckett is his wife; the magic of their relationship is still breathtaking to both him and her. So what he's been planning for their first anniversary has him giddy with excitement. Most women would expect extravagant gifts from a well-known writer on their anniversary, but Kate isn't just any woman.

Castle's words have always been her weakness—her guilty pleasure, and with that knowledge he intends to use the entire week leading up to their anniversary to woo Kate with his words. He'll start by whispering them to her in the privacy of their bedroom, until she's begging him for the rest of the story. And by the end of the week he'll have her so built up that when he at last finishes his story—his intricate tale of love, she'll be burning for him in ways she never has before. And it's then, on the one year anniversary of the day he made her his wife, that he'll make love to her with memories of all the things that brought them together.

He's made no hints of his gift to her, and the fact that she's curious makes him love his idea even more. She knows him, knows he loves to surprise her and after the extravagant and outrageous gift she gave him for his birthday their first year together, she's probably expecting retaliation at some point. There will be time for that, but this anniversary is special. He's been a husband three times now, but she's never been a wife—well not a participating one anyway, and Castle intends to make every part of their marriage special and exciting. After all, they did promise each other to never be boring.

The first day of his gift to her is not only long, but filled with a challenging case that has Kate significantly down by the time they leave the precinct for the evening. She carries the weight of her cases on her shoulders, taking on the despair of the victims' families and she doesn't let up until she becomes a voice for the dead. And although Castle hates to see her like that, he can't help but think that the day's events will make the first part of her gift so much sweeter.

Castle restrains himself from jumping the gun, he wants her warm and comfortable in their bed before he starts weaving his intricate tale, but she looks so miserable at the dinner table that he almost gives in and tells her right then. He manages to get a small smile out of her when he brushes his left hand against her own and she lets him ground her—lets him remind her that she can be happy when they're at home. The case will still be there when she gets to the precinct tomorrow.

Kate picks up on his anxiousness about half way through their kitchen clean-up routine. He's washing, she's drying.

"Babe, what's up with you tonight?"

Castle is so focused on how he's going to bring up his gift that he doesn't hear her first question. Or her second. Or her third.

"CASTLE?" She yells so loudly this time that he startles and almost drops the plate he's been washing for the past five minutes or so.

"Sorry, sorry! Uh what were you saying?" he asks as he finally hands her the plate to dry.

"I asked what was up with you tonight, because clearly something is." She puts the plate in the cabinet and then folds her arms across her chest as she waits for his explanation.

"Oh um—nothing. I was just thinking and spaced out for a second. Come on let's go to bed." He lets the water drain from the sink and then reaches for her hand, pulling her towards the bedroom. If he doesn't get her in there soon he's going to give away everything he's tried so hard to hide until now.

Kate eyes him suspiciously as they dress for bed and Castle almost misses the arch of her eyebrow when he lingers a little too long at the foot of the bed before climbing in beside her. He leans over to kiss her softly on the lips but the moment she tries to deepen it he pulls away and retreats to his side of the bed. He's suddenly thankful that the light is already off when her frustrated huff elicits a devious smirk from him.

Castle waits a good five minutes after she's made herself comfortable and let out a few more huffs and then he makes his move. He rolls towards her until he can wrap his arms around her waist and haul her against him in a move so fast that she has no time to comprehend what's happening.

"Castle, what the hell? Five minutes ago I tried to deepen our kiss and you pulled away from me, now you want to cuddle. What is going on?"

He smirks against the side of her neck where he's buried his face and she pushes at his chest with her hand, and he knows her face is formed into that adorable frown that she does when she's slightly frustrated with him but only in a half-hearted way.

"I promise that this will be worth the wait in the end. Can you just listen to me right now?"

She huffs again but he feels her relax against his body and he knows that he has her attention because if there's ever been anyone who needs the story more than he does, it's Kate Beckett.

"I've been thinking for the past several months about what I wanted to get you for our anniversary."

"Castle, I…" She tries to interrupt him but he presses another chaste kiss to her lips, effectively cutting off whatever she was about to say.

"Most guys get their wives flashy jewelry for their first anniversary but you are no ordinary woman, Kate. I wanted your gift to be something that was well thought out and memorable to you. I've done this marriage thing three times now, but being married to you is so much more than it ever was with Meredith or Gina."

This time when he presses his lips against hers he lingers a little longer and when he pulls away he paints his next words against the soft skin of her cheek. "There's more to it than this, but I wanted to start by telling you a story. We're going on eight years of knowing each other so each night from now until our anniversary I'm going to pick a year. Each chapter of this story centers on a universal theme and I think you'll pick up on it pretty fast. So what do you say, Kate? Do you want to hear a story?"

He can feel her smile against his skin and he knows without a doubt that she loves the idea as much as he does. So as with all stories, he starts at the beginning.

Bri, I adore our friendship! xo

I would love to hear your thoughts! xo