40 Things I Love About You
"I'm in love with your voice"
He finds out she can sing on their first night together, when he wakes up at around three AM and she's not there. He panics for only a second before he hears her voice floating through his bedroom, as if amplified. There's running water in the background and he smiles when he realizes that she's taking a shower.
He stands and stretches his pleasantly sore limbs before padding in the direction of his private ensuite. Kate is standing in his plate-glass shower, a cloud of steam surrounding her, the sound of cascading water and her own melodious tune drowning out the sound of the door opening and closing as Castle enters the bathroom. He stands in the center, the soles of his feet warmed by the heated tiles and the rest of his body from the sound of her voice.
Just over a year ago, he'd heard her sing for the first—and, up until this moment, only—time. It was when Montgomery was still alive, just after Castle bought the bar that the team would inevitably spend their time—and his money—at following dozens of solved homicides. The song had been 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel and Kate's voice has shook with her probable embarrassment at the time, but he remembered thinking that she could carry a tune pretty well.
What an understatement.
Now, as she sings Sara Bareilles's 'Love Song'—and he never pegged her as a fan of Sara Bareilles—her voice sounds like that of an angel. She hits every single note and never loses beat as she bops her head and simultaneously rubs shampoo into her scalp. Her hips shake just the tiniest bit and he grins, finally taking his first step in her direction. If she notices his presence, she doesn't show it, because she doesn't even look his way until he's sliding in behind her and pressing kisses to her soapy shoulders. Then, she quiets and smiles up at him, her eyes shining in the low lighting of the bathroom.
"Hey," he greets, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist.
"Hi," she whispers back, shyly. "I'm sorry," she adds, when he presses a wet kiss to her equally wet lips; "did I wake you?"
"Yes," he says honestly, his grin widening. "But in the best way possible. You have a lovely singing voice."
He swears he can see her blush and it's not from the overwhelming heat of the water they're under. He's tempted to turn it down a notch but she seems comfortable like this—besides, he doesn't want to let go of her right now.
"Thank you," she says, looking down.
"Do you sing a lot?" he asks, coaxing her into turning around to face him. He tries not to wince at the bruises he can see running up and down her body; tries not to think about the fact that they've likely been there since she first showed up on his doorstep, and all they could do was—
"No," she says, breaking him from his thoughts. "I…I used to, but I…I haven't done it in a while."
"Why not?" Castle asks, running his hands up and down her sides as gently as possible, lest he cause her any more unnecessary pain.
Kate shrugs. "I used to do it all the time, but only when I was…" she trails off and looks away again. Castle tucks one finger under her chin to bring her gaze back to his.
"When you were…?" he urges.
"Happy," she says, finally, smiling a little sadly. "When I was very, very happy. My mother would know about every single crush I had, about every good grade or new friend I made, just from my singing. She'd walk by my room, hear it, then pop her head in and asked me what the good news was. I guess it's just a habit I never broke. Even after…" She trails off and bites her lip, but doesn't look away again. Castle understands and presses a soft kiss to her lips.
When he pulls back, he has the infuriatingly cocky grin on his face. "So that means you're happy, then?" he asks. "Very, very happy?" Kate laughs and slaps at his chest, but he only pulls her in tighter and nips at her neck, making her moan.
"Incredibly happy," she gasps, grabbing his shoulders as she fought to stay upright despite his knee-weakening ministrations on her pulse point. She's turning to jelly under his hands and mouth and he's barely even touched her. Castle unlatches from her throat to nuzzle her ear with his nose, and whispers, "I love your voice."