A/N: This is for Mya, Natalie, Janeen, Kristina, Vicki, and Ellenor. Merry Christmas, my darlings! Love you to death. :)
Kate awakes trapped within Castle's strong arms, his breath caressing her neck. Looking out across the room, she sees sunlight filtering in through the blinds, casting striped shadows over the white shag rug covering the hardwood floor. The giant photo of an elephant hanging on his wall reminds her of yet another thing they have in common – their mutual love of those majestic creatures. In many ways, Castle resembles an elephant. Gentle, intelligent, loyal... Loving. He loves her with all of his heart. Every time he looks at her, she can see it in his eyes, or his smile, or sometimes even in his nose. And right now, with him holding her in his arms just so, she feels safe and happy. The perfect way to wake up on Christmas morning, she thinks.
Kate turns her head slightly to peek at his face and finds him smiling down at her.
"Hey," he murmurs.
"Hey back," she says, kissing the knuckle of his index finger and holding his hand to her chest, settling her head back down on the soft pillow.
"Guess what!" There's a teasing lilt to his voice. He doesn't wait for her to respond. "It's Haikusday."
Whatever she thought he was going to say, that certainly wasn't it. She furrows her brow. "What?"
"It's Haikusday! Well, it's Christmas, obviously, but it's also a Tuesday, which means it's Haikusday." He gets overly enthusiastic now, talking so fast that she can barely keep up. "Every Tuesday, you write a haiku. Haikusday! It's one of my favorite traditions."
"Okay..." Kate still doesn't know why he's telling her any of this. "And?"
He pulls away from her and excitedly sits up in the bed, much to her regret. She rolls around to face him and pulls his comforter up under her chin in an attempt to replace the warmth he took away.
"I wrote you a haiku!" he exclaims, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Do you want to hear it?" he asks eagerly, like a kid showing off to his parents.
She props herself up on her elbows and smiles. "Of course."
Castle leans towards her and puts his arms around her body in an awkward hug. "Merry Christmas, Kate," he starts out, counting each of the five syllables with his fingers. She gives his shoulders an encouraging squeeze and he continues. "I have my arms wrapped around everything I want."
This man. This man and his impossibly sweet gestures of love.
Before he can react, she grabs him and throws him back down on the bed. She gets a quick glimpse at his adorably surprised expression just before she attacks his lips with her own. She trails her tongue along his lower lip, forcing her way into his mouth as she feverishly roams her hands through his hair and over his bare chest.
When she finally pulls away, panting and out of breath, he raises his eyebrows in an unspoken question.
"I was cold." Kate shrugs innocently. There is no way that she will ever tell him that his words have that kind of effect on her. She would never hear the end of it. And they would probably never leave the bedroom.
Castle squints at her, trying to discern whether or not she's lying, then he grins knowingly and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. "Now you try," he prompts.
With this request, an idea begins to take hold in the corners of her mind. For months, she has been searching for the perfect way to say "I love you". Should she just blurt it out? Should she make him a candlelit dinner? Should she "accidentally" say it at the end of a phone call? But while she has been wallowing in indecision, Castle has been suffering silently, forever hoping that today will be the day that she says it back.
And now, because of Haikusday, a simple made up holiday, he has provided her with the perfect opportunity to finally put him out of his misery.
Kate settles into the crook of his arm and rests her head on his shoulder. She fiddles with the sheet covering his chest, suddenly nervous. "What are the rules of haikus again?"
"It's easy. 5-7-5. The first line has five syllables, the second has seven, and the third has five."
"Right," she nods.
The poem practically writes itself as she lies content against his chest, one leg nestled between his.
Oh God. This is actually happening. Her heart pounds against her ribcage, blood rages past her ears, and she is almost to the point of hyperventilation.
This is her chance, her opening... And she freezes, petrified of actually saying the words that, so far, she's done a great job of not saying. It's not that she doesn't want to, it's just... She's never said those words to any of her boyfriends. Ever. The idea of giving so much of her heart to one man is daunting. And thrilling. An involuntary shiver passes through her frame.
"Kate?" Castle looks down at her with concern plastered across his face.
She doesn't move. "Yeah?" she replies, trying to sound confident, but failing quite miserably.
"You okay?" He strokes her back lightly with his hand, tripping over the edge of her tank top.
She still doesn't move. "Yeah, I..." She steels her nerves, takes a deep breath, and meets his blue eyes with her own. "I wrote you a haiku." The words tumble from her lips in a rushed exhale.
Castle watches her expectantly, but she can't get her mouth to work. To stall for time, she untangles herself from his embrace and leans against the headboard. It shouldn't be this hard to express how she feels.
He sits up as well, patiently waiting for her to be ready. That's one of the things she loves about him – his patience. His willingness to give her space when she needs it, to not push.
"Love..." The first word of her poem comes out as a barely audible whisper, but he definitely heard it because he looks up at her in shock. He cants toward her, hanging on her every word. She clears her throat and locks her eyes with his, drawing strength from his devotion to her. "Love for you remains, forever and for always, in my healing heart."
Silence permeates the air as Castle's grin nearly splits his face in two. "That was..." He seems close to tears as he struggles to find the right words. "That was so beautiful, Kate."
Kate looks down at her lap, hair falling in a curtain across her face. "I meant every word," she smiles shyly. "I love you, Castle." Sitting up on her knees, she leans in close and whispers in his ear. "Always."
He kisses her forehead, then her nose, her cheek, her chin... And finally her lips. He pulls her in for an eternally slow kiss, pressing his lips softly to hers. She kisses him back, cradling the back of his head with her hand, holding him to her, not willing to ever let go. When they eventually break apart, they lean their foreheads together, reveling in the moment.
Castle beams at her. "Your poetry puts mine to shame!"
She laughs. "I learned from the best."
He gazes at her in admiration and runs his hands down her arms. He kisses her once more, then whispers, "I love you, too," against her lips.
It feels so good to hear him say it again. The last time he said it was over seven months ago, just before they got together.
Just then, Martha bursts into the room, startling them both. "Quit the lovey-dovey crap, we have cookies to make, stockings to open, things to do!" She rushes over to the side of the bed and raises the blinds dramatically. "Up, up, up!" She ushers them out of bed with her hands, as if herding sheep. Then, assured that they are actually awake, she leaves just as quickly as she came.
Kate stumbles out of bed and falls into Castle's arms. He smiles his perfect smile and runs a hand over her tousled hair. "Santa came down the chimney last night and left a stocking with your name on it," he winks.
Kate rolls her eyes. Then a terrifying thought occurs to her. "Castle, I didn't get you anything! What's in your stocking?"
He chuckles. "First of all, stockings are not filled by mere mortals like you or I. They are filled by Santa. Secondly, you did get me something. The best gift ever."
She opens her mouth to protest, but stops when she realizes what he means. "Really? The best?"
"Uh huh. The very best." His eyes twinkle.
"Well, in that case..." Kate bites her lip and loops her hands around his waist. "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you." Then she kisses him quickly and saunters out to the kitchen. Dazed, he pulls on a shirt and follows in her wake.
Alexis and Martha greet her with hugs and kisses, making her feel at home. There's only one thing missing, Kate thinks.
She gets to work and Castle wraps his arms around her from behind just as she finishes.
He looks down in wonder at what she's done.
There, in two warm, ceramic cups resting on the granite counter, is coffee, complete with heart designs in the foam.
A/N: "Haikusday" is an actual thing. Because of this, I would like to propose a challenge to you all: post a haiku in the reviews. The creativity of this fandom is incredible! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Also, "Extra Cool Points" to anybody who caught the Dharma & Greg reference. :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
P.S. - I might be posting more chapters to this story, so even though it's marked as complete, you may want to add it to your alerts.
You can follow me on Twitter at MissRainbowPie.