AN: If I could wish a fictitious character a happy birthday in person I totally would. I can't, but I can write this and send hugs to a dear friend today. Diane, "when it's dark look for stars!"
She wakes to a crack of sunlight streaming through the window, to his lips at her ear and his hand opening determinedly against the soft warmth of her belly.
She's on her side facing the wall, no trepidation there now, just seashells and memories of entwined fingers and endless sand and happiness and smiles that unfurl across her lips in sweet reminiscence.
Kate keeps her eyes closed and stays that way, half asleep and on her side, pressing her lips and the lightness of her smile into the curve of muscle that lays under her head, kisses his arm and rolls a little further away, allows his body to chase hers across the sheets.
"Ummm, good morning." He whispers, touching the tip of his tongue to the shell of her ear so she shivers.
But Kate shakes her head, "Nope." Not even close.
Castle grins, she can feel it in the warmth of his lips as they stretch out across the base of her neck and he burrows in closer. The hand under her head slides, bends and flexes, taut muscular biceps straining and pulling her backwards into his chest.
No escape.
She smiles. Dips her head forwards. Hides her face.
His arms winds around her like a seat belt, fingers tugging at the part of her shirt that's ridden up, his large fingers hot over her ribs. Heat rises beneath the sheets, tangles and wraps itself around his fingers and touches at the digits where they lay against her skin. Pinpricks of fire that ignite until her eyelids flutter, her vision hazy with it, the world around her shimmering like sunlight on a long, hot road.
She can feel every inch of him plastered to her back, the hard, the soft and all of him scorching. She can feel the sweat trickle down the line of her spine, the flush under her skin climbing up from her toes to meet it. Everything between them blazing, bursting to life.
"Lazy Sunday?" He whispers and Kate shakes her head again, opens her fingers as his invade the space between them. Castle draws her hand down her chest. settles it over the erratic beat of her heart and splays her finger there. Wide.
She's not wearing her ring.
The chain lays tangled in her jewelry box from the night before and she wants it. Wants to climb out of the bed and claim it just to have the feel of the metal pressing between their skin as he holds her hand over her heart. She would scamper from the warmth of his arms and his embrace just to have it and she squeezes his fingers, the request to release her on the tip of her tongue.
Castle rumbles hotly behind her, the vibration hitting her skin as he tastes her vertebra, and the sound travels in a long low shiver straight down her spine, stilling her movement..
"No." He hums, his thumb dancing over her finger, tracing the invisible line left by the band like he knows and he does, he does know.
Pulling Kate back into him more firmly, his chest to her back, both of them hot and flushed with arousal he kisses the word into her skin as he traces that invisible line over and over again, not giving up her. "No, no, no." Each word peppered with a kiss, a touch, a reminder.
The promise is between them.
He squeezes her fingers again, massages the digits into the small gap between her breasts, finds her heartbeat again and reminds her. The promise is between them and the ring, the ring is beautiful and sweet and symbolic, but the promise, the promise is between them.
His other hand strokes low and slow across her stomach, tracing idle all too knowing patterns around her navel. And there is no need for a band of metal on her finger first thing in the morning when he pulls her into his arms and whispers, "I love you, Kate." directly Into her ear.
It's good.
Beautiful, lovely heat radiates from every point of contact and she turns her mouth to his arm opens against the skin with hot, moist lips and bites at the muscle. Her gentle but determined tongue finds the pulse in his wrist and tests it, delighting when it sky rockets just like hers.
Kate shakes her head and laughs, feels him chuckle into her hair and inhale deeply. The remnants of their late night shower still clinging to her skin, he breathes in the mellow scent of shampoo and happiness, bubbles and joy that still paint her skin.
His fingers find their way under the waistband of her shorts, roam in concentric circles over the lowest plains of her stomach.
Kate sucks in a breath, concentrates on the feel of it, nothing between her and the soft cotton but the warmth of his skin.
"Kate." He whispers, and just her name in his mouth, on the tip of his tongue, unleashed with a deep baritone hum, it's almost enough as she arches back into him, turning her head for his kiss.
His fingers separate, advance and invade as Kate feels her lips part, her mouth open ready for his kiss as her body surrenders, conquered and never once at war with barrage of feelings that swamp her body.
She gives in. All too willingly, gracelessly, gloriously to the slide of his fingers as they burrow lower, seek out a darker heat, a long low moan, an incantation in the spell he weaves with his fingertips.
He parts her, hums in appreciation and slides further into the liquid warmth of her desire.
Castle opens his mouth, hot against her parted lips when he whispers, "Happy birthday, Kate" before kissing her senseless.
He's laughing into the sweat soaked heat of her neck and every laugh shakes the bed and their still joined bodies so that dark ecstatic after shocks race out over her skin, spilling forth in molten color, red, purple, yellow, orange, flames and fireworks of light and dark that explode where they touch.
She laughs too.
Groans.
Its almost too much. Not enough.
She bites at his shoulder and he jerks hard and perfect and still too entrenched in her body and her scent, smell, taste, kiss, it all comes alive again.
Her ankles ache. Pressed tight and high into the backs of his thighs. His knees bent and pressing into mattress just below her backside. They fit together so snugly, so deliciously that the slightest shift brings him in closer and she arches, does it again, holds tight and feels her body surrender to every bit of him. Twists and moans and gets him surrendering too, feels him shudder and cling and moan her name, call her evil until she laughs harder, snaking her hands around to grope and pinch and remind him it's her birthday and she can be as evil as she wants.
His arms curve under her own, travel up her back until he's wrapped around her so completely, his fingers glancing her jaw and his mouth opening hotly against her neck ,climbing the line of her throat, kissing, kissing, kissing out over her chest and her ear, her hairline, cheeks, eyelids and the tip of her nose. Kissing, kissing until she's laughing and groaning aching, and arching and moaning with pleasure, unable to find the breath to kiss him back.
Then his mouth is over hers and the hot swipe of his tongue steals his own name back from the dark recess of hers as he lays her own inside her mouth like a silent prayer. He chants it in time with the slow circle of his hips, an undulating rotation that makes her cast her head back, eyes wide in shock as she calls out breathlessly.
"Castle. God."
She clings, tries to remember to breathe.
Everywhere they can touch, they do.
Every hill and valley meets its partner, every soft meets hard meets pliant and warm and welcoming, where he ends she begins and every, every, every single breath races over their bodies not belonging to one, but both.
Every snap of synaptic pleasure pulses not for her or him or one alone, but for two. Every heart beat thunders in a chest joined together with one single united force of love that tugs them both, eyes wide and staring into the other, sends them spiraling until it casts them both over the edge and into oblivion
"Happy birthday to me." She laughs, too relaxed too content and sated with her arms up around his neck and her body burrowed over into the tiny gap he leaves her on his side of the bed. It's nowhere near enough space to do anything other than cling to him and not fall to the floor. She loves that, a tiny devious streak of genius that keeps them holding tight to each other. She loves it.
Her legs quiver and shake and the muscles in her stomach jump about like electrodes have been inserted under her skin. Like he has a button that he presses to send little sparks shooting out through her blood.
Kate laughs, strokes his face far too tenderly for it to go unnoticed and Castle smiles at her. "What?"
She shakes her head, cheeks flushing because, at the thought of button pressing, her mind has gone somewhere entirely too dirty to do anything about given how alive her body already feels. Like he's actually flipped a switch and turned from something fairly sane and solid to a laughing, liquid loon.
"Kattteeeee." He calls out quietly over her chest where his head rests. His mouth just shy of the nipple still wet with his saliva and his eyes finding hers in warning. "Why are you laughing?"
She shakes her head again and starts to utter a warning of her own ... but his fingers -
And...
"Oh God."
He touches her like she's a piano that needs fine tuning, his other hand curving around her rib cage and trickling out a melody over each bone until her body is singing, dancing and breaking apart all at once.
Her back arches and she's already top of the list of creatures allowed to roar, growl, snarl and maybe even trumpet in delight in the bedroom but the way he strums his fingers, touches her skin, tastes!
She's about to become Queen of the jungle.
He's kissing her and whispering it each time their lips touch, "Happy birthday."
Their eyelashes meet and flutter.
"Happy birthday."
Noses brush.
"Happy birthday."
Over and over again until she wraps an arm around his neck and pulls him in tight. Kate gets at that kiss properly and let's herself fall into it with a deep satisfied moan.
She hears laughter and it's not her own. Not his either and she cracks an eye open, glares at the sheepish look that breaks over his face like maybe he ... forgot something?
"Castle!" She growls, lifting herself onto her elbows to stare down at him as he hides his face in her stomach. "Are there people here?"
"Mmmhmm." He mumbles something against her skin and she has to twist his ear - hasn't done that for a while actually - and it feels nice, like a good memory with his soft skin between the pads of her fingers, but she narrows her eyes and levels him with her look to see exactly what he's gotten her into this time.
"What was that?" She demands, pulling his head up as he yelps, "What did you just say?"
"Birthday brunch." He grins, pulls out of her reach, "With the family. He smiles then, pleased with himself and sits back on his heels to pull her with him.
It's not fair, she's still in bits and - deliciously liquid - pieces from their morning in bed and he ... he's made plans.
"Family?" She smiles, not really annoyed, never annoyed with the way he loves her and her cheeks pink up again as she laughs. She watches as his feet snag in the sheets and he stumbles, trying to save himself, hopping to free himself and everything, everything, every little and not so little bit of him jumping up and down as he does too.
She burrows her head into her hands and laughs loudly, outrageously, until he's turning on her, naked and jiggly and her just the same as they stumble to their feet, wrapped up in each other and laughing.
"Mother, Alexis." He grits his teeth, like it hurts and she can't help it, she laughs again, "Pi".
Castle smiles quite scarily and she pouts on his behalf, still giggling, tangles herself up in his fingers and pulls him with her to the shower as his eyes dart to the door.
"We have people." He points, feet stumbling, but she shakes her head and cuts off the rest of his sentence.
"Nuh-uh. It's my birthday." She grins, "You're supposed to pamper me."
His eyes widen with glee and he crowds her into the room growling and kicking the door shut.
They kiss under the spray of hot water, neither of them up to much more than that but it's lovely and just what he needs to find his smile again. He smooths his hands over her as the water pummels their skin, brings the normality back to her limbs, helps ease the sensitivity of her body until it begins to fade pleasantly into the background.
Castle heads out quickly as she gets dressed. Hair wet and ruffled and Martha's greeting of "FINALLY" to her son, echoing through the bedroom before he closes the door.
Kate dresses fast, eager to be back at his side, black lace and the pale blue shirt he bought her thrown over dark denim. Simple, elegant and comfortable. She twists half her hair up away from the rest and clips it quickly, allows the other strands to spill out around her in a chocolate and honey colored wave, drying in loose, messy curls.
Makeup is the barest touch and then she's stopping at her jewelry box, finding the chain and slipping one ring from it slowly.
The metal is cool as it slides over her finger and fits into a groove that has already started forming on her skin. A little dent of familiarity that makes her smile, a pale white line almost invisible to the naked eye, a quiet mark of forever that no one else knows about.
Looping the chain around her neck, Kate breathes deep and pulls her mothers ring up to her lips and closes her eyes.
Just a second.
A quick hello.
A brief moment to revel in the memory of her Mom and the years of cake and pulling down the covers to sing her awake, kisses on the tip of her nose and her cheeks and telling her to make wishes as she blows out candles. Kate breathes in the memories, of smoky swirls rising from candles and her Mom's voice telling her she mustn't tell anyone what she wished for, and she smiles again.
It's the memory of Mom signed at the bottom of too few birthday cards, but every single one of them precious and treasured. And saved.
Kate smiles wide, let's the warmth of her Mom's love suffuse her and fill her up. She kisses the ring once more, tucks it back into her shirt and heads out of the bedroom.
"Hi."
Alexis is tentative, she holds out a card and her arms and offers nothing more than, "Happy birthday." But it feels like the biggest gift.
The girl smiles weakly and Kate grins, hugs her back and takes the card in silence, she releases her slowly, prepares to respond when she finds herself spinning around and wrapped up in a orange and lemon zest infused hug.
Her eyes bulge as she's engulfed by the scent and her nose tickles as Pi wraps his arms around her so tightly she grunts, having to refrain herself from spinning and flipping him over her shoulder.
It's her birthday, but there are still certain things she won't get away with.
"Mrs. C to be!" He practically yells in her ear, and, though she quite likes that nickname - probably the best thing about him in fact - she pushes him back when he tries to swing her around as he sings Happy Birthday.
Castle is at her side in an instant, claiming her fingers and pulling her to freedom even as the mustached wonder trails behind her telling her all about her birthday gift.
A fruit basket.
She spots it on the counter and oh, there are raspberries, huge ones, right at the front. About a million other fruits as well, ones she's not even sure she recognizes but it's the raspberries, humongous, giant ones, that hold her attention. She's never seen raspberries that large before.
Great big, bright red berries that look tantalizing and delicious and Kate turns her eye to Alexis, knowing Pi has no idea about her predilection for the tiny fruit.
She feels ravenous, suddenly and intensely hungry, and it must all play out in her eyes and over her face because Martha laughs, reminding Kate she's there, and before she has a chance to say hello, Kate finds herself enfolded in another hug.
"Birthdays started the way yours clearly did often leave one hungry." Martha whispers into her ear, kissing her cheek and laughing as she blushes. "Happy birthday, darling. Richard let us feed this woman before she expires. That would be a tragedy more befitting a Greek play and not at all suitable for such a happy occasion."
Martha snags Kate's hand, grabs Castle's too and slaps them together with a flourish that feels like it holds more meaning than it should. Then she laughs and shoves them both towards the door.
"Where are we going?" Kate asks as they walk, her fingers in his and the pad of his thumb brushing her ring over and over again.
"Little place I know." He answers cryptically. No more, no less and she turns to watch him as they walk, her eyes narrowing again.
"Little place I know?" She wonders aloud.
"Nope, but you'll like it." Castle pulls her into his side as they step around people on the sidewalk. "They have coffee and sugar." He grins and she laughs and yeah, okay, that is pretty much all she's craving right now anyway.
It's a quiet, modern but homely feeling little restaurant that they stop at and it's not until Kate sees him sitting at the table, waiting, that she even realizes something felt off. But, at the sight of her father standing up, holding out his arms and calling her "Katie" everything immediately falls into place, settling beautifully in her chest.
She let's him wrap her up in a hug, laughs when he comments on her wet hair and lack of scarf his eyes dancing pointedly to Castle who suddenly looks panicked.
"Don't let her wrap you around her finger, just because it's her birthday." Jim teases, his face straight and his tone dark enough that Castle falters for a second too long.
They shake hands as she stands between them and her father laughs loudly when Castle finally finds his voice and says, "Why should today be any different."
She glares at them both but it has no effect.
It's not until they sit that Kate realizes half the table is empty.
"What did you do?" She hisses, her nails digging through his pants and into his thigh.
"You said no party." Castle soothes, stroking the back of her hand to loosen her fingers and twine them with his own.
"Ummm."
"Just brunch." He promises, his eyes for her, nothing and no one else. "With the people who love you."
Kate laughs, brings their joined hands onto the table and leans into him with a smile."Pi loves me?"
Castle grimaces. "He must. Did you see the size of those raspberries?"
She doesn't mean to but a great burst of laughter tumbles from her lips and their entire table, not to mention half of the restaurant, turn to follow the sound. At the sight of her evident happiness, and the siren call of her joyous laughter she becomes the focus of everyone in the immediate vicinity.
She doesn't notice. She's too busy kissing her fiancé.
Lanie and Espo, Ryan and Jenny trickle in, each with hugs and flowers or cards and gifts. Jenny pulls Kate to one side, holds out something tiny and tells her it's from the baby with a broad smile that is just completely infectious.
Something, hot and wanting and entirely terrifying awakens within her. It's getting bigger and more prominent every day and Kate smiles back at Jenny, letting the woman grab her hand to feel the baby kick.
The little bump and nudge under her palm from the littlest Ryan startles a laugh from her and Kate hums a hello to the baby even as she continues to talk to Jenny.
When she looks up to find herself trapped in Castle's adoring gaze that fluttery, terrifying feeling makes itself known again and her fingers unconsciously skim her stomach as she wonders what exactly lies between this birthday and the next for them.
"This isn't it." Castle says quietly as they eat. Everyone is chatting happily among themselves and, aside from a simple toast, pretty much leaving her be.
"Isn't what?" Kate asks putting down her fork and turning in her chair to see him properly, this wonderful caring man who has gone out of his way to make her day special. To make her feel loved.
"This isn't me getting you back."
She laughs at how smug he looks. As if he's got one over on her.
"I should hope not," Kate pats his hand, "your birthday surprise took weeks of planning. I'd be a little disappointed if this was the best you could come up with."
He leans in close, eyes blue and warm and a little wild in that sexy way that makes her want to pin him against a wall. Or have him pin her. "Not. Even. Close." He bites at each word, his eyes on her lips, his tone making her tingle all over.
It's leading and promising and far too warm for the inside of a crowded restaurant.
Later burns there slowly and sweetly...and suspiciously.
"No surprise weddings." Kate states fiercely, "I'm only doing this once and I want to plan it."
"Got it." He nods, seriously before smiling, and laughing because she's clearly still no where near guessing correctly.
"No honeymoons in space." She barks, startling herself.
"Good guess, but no." He smiles and she wonders how far into the life they are starting and sharing together he plans on dragging this out.
She smiles.
Forever sounds lovely.
They eat.
All the people she loves in one room, whether in person or in spirit, and her wish, when she makes one, is easy, simple and secret.
She holds her Mom just a little closer by keeping her birthday wish tight inside her chest and she won't give it up, no matter how much he begs her to tell him.
"Fine." He growls, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear when she refuses for the third time, but he looks down at her adoringly, traces the skin of her cheek as he palms the side of her face and holds her close, "Happy birthday, Kate." He breathes the words with love, kissing her slowly as she smiles and touches his jaw, thanking him and counting herself so very, very lucky.
Happy birthday.
It really is, and it's barely even begun.