A quasi-loud 'thud' from the kitchen wakes Castle with a start. He stretches his legs lazily, untangling them from the blanket that's over him; he didn't remember falling asleep here. Or having a blanket… He rubs his eyes slowly, wincing as the book he'd been reading jabs him in the chin, the hard edges pushing insistently at his sleepy skin until he finishes his stretch, swiping it away with a bear-like hand and letting it slide down between the cushions of the couch.
His mind crawls to a start slowly…Alexis. Shit, Alexis – is she home? As his thoughts gather pace, he makes the connection; she must have put the blanket on him, when she got home and found him asleep in the living room. Old habits die hard, and whenever she stayed at the loft to go out with her friends who lived more locally to him than her, he still couldn't help waiting up for her until he knew she was home safely. Despite his once tiny, innocent daughter being 26 years of age by now, the protective father instinct had never truly abated. He didn't impose restrictions, or nag her, he just waited patiently until he knew she was back home safe and sound, and there was an unspoken agreement between them that, deep down, she appreciated it. He flicks his eyes over to the chair opposite him and, sure enough, her coat, keys and impossibly high heels are scattered in a haphazard pile on the cushion. He exhales lightly in relief, jumping a little as another noise from the kitchen disturbs him. Wriggling around on to his side, he pokes his head up over the arm of the couch to investigate.
Dressed in tattered check pyjama bottoms, Castle's old oversized fishing socks and one of his recent book tour hoodies Kate is crouched down by the stove top, trying to get Castle's iPod and speaker to work. She pokes and prods until finally, some form of sound emerges, and she scrunches her face up at the lilting banjo and warbling harmonica that fills the kitchen. Sometimes his tastes still surprised her; and not always in a good way... She pokes again, before smiling in satisfaction as one of her favourite songs appears on the screen. 'Loving You Easy'. Straightening her body and reaching for the kettle, she wiggles her hips a little to the opening guitar riff as she busies herself with breakfast, starting to sing along softly.
"Every morning when you come downstairs, hair's a mess but I don't care…"
'There's some truth in that…' he thinks, smiling at her dishevelled bangs as she huffs them out of her eyes with a directed exhale.
"No make up on, shining so bright, my old sweatshirt never fit so right…"
'Well that's a definite given. Hotness personified… especially with my face on your boobs. Bam!' A self satisfied chuckle escapes as he claps his hand over his mouth, shrinking downwards into the couch to avoid detection as her head darts upwards, searching for the source of the sound. A quick shrug of indifference and she's back to cracking eggs, tapping them against the rim of the bowl along to the beat as his head creeps back up to carry on watching her, a grin spreading across his face.
"Dancing around to the radio, humming the words that you don't know… I know them all, thank you Zac!" she mutters as an aside, making Castle stuff his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing out loud again. It's cruel, but he doesn't want to disturb her; he doesn't often get to see her this carefree, this uninhibited… There's always something on her mind, something that stops her childlike playfulness shining through like this. Although he's quite sure he looks just as silly and childish when he's playing Guitar Hero by himself, dancing around the living room; an act she thankfully hasn't yet managed to catch him at. That's reserved for severe writing-procrastination-breaks. And most definitely when he's alone in the loft… no chance of being embarrassingly discovered like this.
She's off again, pouring the pancake mixture into the pan in between every line; almost an accent beat of her own, to add to the song. "You make loving you easy…" She pours a little. "You make loving you all I wanna do…" Two pours this time. "Every little smile, every single touch, reminds me just how much it all makes loving you easy …" Another pour, and then a flick of the spatula to catch a few stray droplets of mixture, merging it all into the perfect pancake circle as her bottom starts wiggling again.
'She's in her own little perfect world, isn't she… So sweet.' he thinks, his mouth still firmly upturned in a grin. She starts the next line… 'Oops, the accent's out now too'. Gone is the usual New York harshness that colours her speech, instead she's linking the words softly in a mock Texan drawl that matches the singer's. 'Another one to add to the list… It's not just your Russian accent that's sexy…' She flips one of the nicely browned pancakes, spinning the spatula around and using it as a makeshift guitar as she starts to imitate the violin riff.
"Whap wooow, wa wa waa waaaaooow…"
He stifles a giggle. 'Not quite the right instrument, Katherine, but still… not bad…' Resting his chin on his hand, he watches her eyes sparkle as she flips the remaining pancakes, happy in her own little world. Then the key change kicks in and suddenly her spatula becomes a microphone, and she takes her place in the centre of the kitchen as if she's on stage at the Hollywood Bowl; eyes closed and her arm in the air, leg kicking in a Freddie Mercury-esque stance as she warbles along sweetly.
"Oh, I wanna sing it again…" He sings along with her quietly as he kicks off his blanket and creeps up to her, sliding his arms around her waist as she shrieks instantly in fright, hitting him on the shoulder with the spatula as it falls out of her grip. Then her eyes open at the same time as she inhales and smells his musky, sweet scent and she sighs heavily, the dots connecting in her mind as she bats him with the palm of her hand, settling against him in relief.
"Castle, for god's sake! You scared the shit out of me!"
He nestles in to her, guiding her body around so it's flush with his - but facing forward - and leads her in a swaying motion, following the music. "Well, even after all these years, I never knew you were a budding rock star, Mrs Castle…"
She sticks her bottom out in response, pushing him away playfully before pulling his arms back around her. "You weren't supposed to be watching me… I thought you were still writing in your study. And you've spoiled my surprise now; I was going to bring you breakfast…"
"Oh, this is breakfast enough for me…" He spins her back around and before she can respond, his eyes twinkling as he ducks his head down and captures her lips with his, kissing her gently. "Hmmm… But it was a sweet thought. Thank you." He covers her mouth with his own again as her arms snake around his neck, her hands twisting up and into his hair as he pulls her body tight to his, walking her back step in step with him until her bottom hits the worktop and she exhales in a surprised little 'huff'. He chases a line of kisses down from her lips to her neck, nudging her jumper away with his nose as he nips lightly at her collarbone, soothing the sting with his lips as she jumps and squeaks a little under his touch… Just as her hips begin to roll against Castle's and his hands wander underneath the heavy cotton of her pyjama pants, they're stopped in their tracks by the loud "Hmmm HMMM!" of Alexis clearing her throat somewhere in the living area behind them.
"Uh… guys? Not quite what I want to see, first thing in the morning…" Her face is scrunched up in not-quite mock disgust. "... especially not with a hangover."
Castle looks to Kate and smirks, seeing the redness in her cheeks darken, the heat of embarrassment mingling with the flush of desire he'd already made flow over the whole of her body. He bats her on the behind as they split apart, Kate going back to rescue the just-about-salvageable pancakes and Castle busying himself with the coffee pot. "Sorry, honey. So, did you have a good night?"
Alexis winces as Castle drops the lid of the percolator on the counter with a loud crash. "Dad, please? Not so loud… And yes, it was nice. But you didn't have to wait up for me, you know." She looks up from the sideboard drawer she's rifling in. "Do we have any aspirin?"
Kate gestures with the spatula she's retrieved from the floor, to a cupboard above the sink. "Up there." Alexis squints again. "Hold on, I'll get them. You want some juice too?" Alexis nods, folding herself very ungracefully onto a stool at the breakfast bar as she accepts the proffered tablets and glass, swallowing them both down quickly.
"Thanks. So what gets you two up so early? Or is that a question I shouldn't be asking…?"
Castle taps her on the nose with his little finger as he sits beside her. "Don't be cheeky. I fell asleep on the couch waiting for you to get home – thanks for the blanket too, by the way –" He plants a quick kiss on the top of her head as she smiles up at him. " - and old flatfoot here decided to make breakfast for us all, waking me up in the process. So I wouldn't be up this early actually, given the choice. Blame her." He gestures to Kate as she places three side plates on the breakfast bar in front of them, followed by the large serving plate of pancakes and a bowl of blueberries. "Ooh – don't blame her, actually, or she might take away the pancakes. Thanks, hon…"
Kate smiles. "I can take them away whether you're apportioning blame or not, so play nice." She slides onto the remaining stool and folds her feet in under herself, taking one of the pancakes and transferring it onto her plate. Just as she's about to take the first mouthful the phone rings loudly in the cradle on the sideboard, and she leans over to answer it.
"Hello? Oh, hi Kev… No, just having breakfast. We got something? Where?..." She flaps her hand at Castle, making a writing gesture, and he passes her a pen. "57th and Lex…" She scribbles the address down on her napkin. "Yep, sure, we'll be right there. Ok. See you soon." She places the phone back in the cradle and takes the bite of pancake still balanced on her fork, before hopping down and gesturing to Castle. "Dressed - now - body." Her mouth still full she tugs at his arm, speaking muffled words before dashing into the bedroom to throw on some clothes.
Alexis sighs. "A body this early? Someone had a bad night… Oh well, more pancakes for me I guess!" Castle slips off his own stool, swiping his plate away from her wandering hands before she can steal his breakfast from him.
"Take one from your own pile, Missy… this one's coming with me."