So, this only my second Castle fanfic. Please go easy :)
Disclaimer: If I owned Castle... believe, you would know about it.
Summary: Pictures at sunset. A moment in time, captured.
The sky darkened as the sun set. It was beautiful. The red and pink afterglow lingered on the undersides of the clouds, almost painting them. It was surreal.
Kate Beckett hugged her arms around herself, hiding from the harsh winds that blew across the roof top. She had no idea why she had agreed to this. When Castle had shown up at her door, a camera in one hand and a picnic basket in the other, she had been thoroughly confused.
He had walked straight into her apartment, not even waiting for her invitation. Of course she was annoyed, but the excitement that shone in his eyes dimmed her anger.
"Of course Castle, you can come right in." She had muttered to the now empty doorway before closing the door. She had glared when she turned around to find him levelling the camera at her.
"What are you doing Castle?" She had asked, trying to keep the affection out of her voice.
"Just a new hobby Kate, now smile." He had grinned and snapped another photo. She couldn't keep the small smile that graced her lips.
"What's with the basket?" She asked, trying to divert his attention.
"I thought we could go for a picnic?" He seemed a little unsure of himself.
"Castle... I'm tired. Maybe another time?" Internally, she had wanted to bang her head against the wall. It was just a picnic right? So why couldn't she say yes?
"C'mon, it'll be fun. You need to get out more Kate, you're becoming translucent." He had grabbed her hand, pretending to study it. She couldn't help the tingle that ran down her spine at the simple touch.
She had smiled, knowing he wouldn't give up till she agreed.
"Okay Castle, let's go."
She hugged herself tighter as another gust of wind rocked her frozen body. Castle was standing near the edge of the roof, fiddling with the dials on his camera. Her teeth chattered and he turned.
"Kate, I'm so sorry, I didn't think it would be this cold." He moved towards her, pulling off his coat as he went.
She tried to protest, but the cold was affecting her more than it should have. Ever since that night in the freezer, she had been unable to bear the cold. She hated it.
He wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and she sighed into the warmth, holding it against her despite herself.
"So I thought this was supposed to be a picnic Castle?" There was the hint of a smile in her voice. He just grinned, leaning down to grab the basket. He pulled out a blanket and spread it on the floor. Kate sat down, grateful for the reprieve from the winds.
He sat next to her and began pulling food out of the basket. Of course it would be enough to feed a family for a week.
"So I got hotdogs, some Italian, Chinese. I even stopped and got some steak sandwiches from this awesome meet truck called "Steak me home tonight"." He chuckled at the name. Kate just grinned and pulled one of the sandwiches toward her. She had seen the truck before, but she had never had the time to stop and try their food.
They ate in companionable silence, neither feeling the need to talk. It was truly beautiful. As a cop, Kate never had the time to do this, to just take a beat and appreciate the world around her.
"So Castle, photography?" She raised an eyebrow at him. He bobbed his head, smiling a little.
"Alexis decided that she wanted to be a photographer a few years ago, so I bought this," he held up the camera, "Of course, she gave up on it after a few days, but I fell in love with it. I haven't had the chance to use it lately, but I just thought..." He drifted into silence, looking at her, almost studying her.
She kept her eyes trained on the city skyline in front of her. The sun was almost gone, and the lights were starting to shine. She knew that if she looked at him now, here, her resolve would crumble. She would be unable to hold herself back.
"Would you like to try it?" He asked quietly, almost shyly. She turned towards him, unable to resist any longer.
"Yeah." She all but whispered. He grinned, excited again, and stood up. His hand grabbed hers and he pulled, bringing her up next to him. The sudden closeness took her breath away. The stood for a few moments, just looking at each other. Their hands were still clasped; she could feel the heat radiating from his body. Her mind was blank. Was she moving toward him?
He stepped back, clearing his throat.
"So... Uh... yeah, pictures." He pulled the camera up and started explaining it to her. He talked for a few minutes, rambling really, about exposure and aperture. Shutter speed and ISO. She wasn't really listening; she was still trying to process what had just happened.
Suddenly he held out the camera. Crap. What had he said? She took it and stepped toward the edge, looking out over the city. Her mind cleared as she brought the camera up to her face and pressed the button.
It clicked and she pulled back, waiting for the photo to appear. It was not what she had expected. She looked in confusion at the dark, barely visible city in her picture. She looked back at Castle and he grinned, moving forward.
"You've got it on auto," he explained, "The shutter closed too quickly, so not enough light got in. Here..." he stood next to her and pulled the camera up, fiddling with all the little dials, talking as he went.
"If you up the ISO, it allows the image sensors to capture more light, so we'll set that quite high..." he fiddled a little more, "Lengthen the shutter speed, drop the aperture..." he spoke to himself as he fiddled.
"Here." He held out the camera, "Try now." He smiled at her encouragingly as she took the camera back. She held it up to her face, holding it like she would a camera phone. He chuckled and moved in behind her. She stiffened as she felt his arms wrap around her.
"You're holding it wrong, Kate. Here," he repositioned her right hand, wrapping it around the camera, "... And cup the lens with your left hand." He finished, repositioning that hand as well.
She tried to clear her mind, to stop thinking about how close he was, to stop her body from reacting the way it wanted to.
She pulled her eye up to the viewfinder, training it on the city again. She felt his hand touch hers on the lens again.
"If you turn this, it controls the zoom." He whispered into her ear. She shivered slightly, trying to ignore him. She snapped the picture.
It was beautiful. Far more so than the real thing.
"Castle..." she whispered in amazement.
"Gorgeous..." he said. She turned to find him staring at her instead of the picture. She felt the blood rush to her face.
His nose brushed against her cheek as she turned her head. Time slowed, almost stopping. He moved slowly, bringing his mouth closer to hers. The world seemed to hold its breath as theirs mingled.
She moved, turning into him, dropping the camera onto the soft blankets next to them. Her hands slipped around his neck as his own encircled her waist. Her brain was screaming at her to stop, but for tonight, her heart had taken over.
Her nose nuzzled against his as they moved closer, slowly, steadily, taking simultaneously a minute and an hour, a day and a year, a second and a lifetime.
Their lips met, and the world fell away. It was just them, nothing else. Their lips moved against one another almost achingly slowly.
Her tongue shot out to caress his bottom lip. An infinitesimal pressure, an insistent beg for entry.
He opened his mouth and their tongues collided. They moved against each other, slowly, languidly. There was no battle for dominance. Rather, it was like a dance. They each moved in response to the other, as though they could read one another's thoughts. They were no longer Castle and Beckett, Kate and Rick. They were one.
They could taste each other, hints of coffee and chocolate. And below that, their personal taste. It was everything that they had imagined it would be. Everything that their undercover kiss had promised it would be.
Neither of them could say how long the kiss lasted. It was at once fleeting and infinite. Unnoticed by the universe, yet entirely world-changing.
They broke apart, breathing heavily. He smiled against her and brushed his lips over hers again. Muted, yet no less powerful.
Their eyes opened and time restarted. The world crashed into being around them, like waves on a beach.
He stared into her eyes and a smile of pure joy blossomed over his face. She grinned, suddenly unable to understand why it had taken them this long.
"I love you, Rick." She whispered, her breath flowing over his face. She saw the startled look in his eyes, gone in seconds, replaced by affection and love.
"I love you too, Kate." He whispered back. Both of them knew that this was it. There was no more searching. They had found each other, and they would never again need anyone else.
A/N: So I know Castle is not a photographer, but I am. I always thought that photography and writing worked really well together. Also, yes, that is a reference to "Happy Endings". I couldn't help myself, I've been on a Happy Endings Marathon lately. I know, Happy endings=Chicago and Castle=New York. But I think it was fair enough of me to add Dave's truck. If you guys haven't watched Happy Endings, I suggest you get on that. Now. What are you waiting for?
Please review, tell me what you think? This just kind of happened. I usually prefer to outline and plot my stuff, and this is the first time I've "pantsed" anything.