AN: Takes place very early in season 5. Rating is for subsequent chapters.
She giggled as his lips tickled up the side of her ribs but drew her arm in self consciously when she realized what he was doing, suddenly feeling exposed even though she was already naked. "Why do you always insist on kissing that ugly scar?" she asked, more complaint than actual question.
He paused for a second, something shifting in his demeanor.
"This," he said matter-of-factly as he ran his fingers over the long line of scar tissue marring her left side, "is beautiful."
"Uh huh," she scoffed at him. She hated it. It wasn't at all like the small circle on her chest. That one didn't pull as much and was easy to cover with makeup. Sometimes she'd even use it as a boost of courage, a trick she picked up in therapy. Turn it into something you can use.
…If I can survive a bullet to the chest...
She had learned to live with that one but this one she hadn't quite figured out a way to accept.
He slid up next to her and propped himself up on an elbow. "Hey," he paused until she met his eyes, "I'm serious."
She frowned slightly but let him continue, wondering where he was going with this.
"This was made for one reason and one reason only - to save your life," he said, punctuating the last three words. "It's why you're here with me right now instead of..." His jaw clenched as he shut his eyes, not wanting to even imagine it.
Oh. She wasn't prepared for such a serious answer.
"Castle," she said, almost a whisper as she touched his face.
He took a calming breath, trying to find the right words. "You have two scars from that day. One gave you back what the other tried to take." He traced his finger over the small circle on her chest. "This one may be smaller but the one on your side gave you your life back. It gave us a chance. It's why you're here and it's a part of you now. That's what makes it beautiful and it's why I love every inch of it, okay?"
She cupped his face in her hands, the look of pure love in his eyes something she'll never tire of seeing. He doesn't see it as just a scar from her past or a sign of weakness but one of a second chance. Hope. For them.
Once again she's overwhelmed by him.
A quiet "Okay," was all she could manage as he leaned his forehead against hers. They both closed their eyes, content to just breathe each other in. She loves these little moments where they lose all sense of time. Just existing. Together.
They stayed like that for a while, noses softly rubbing.
A slight tilt of her head and their lips almost brushed, teasing him with the promise of a kiss. Her scent was pure seduction, a hint of sex mixed with coffee and Kate and home. He chased her smirk with his own.
Two can play that game.
He teased right back but only once before he grabbed her, delivering a devastating kiss and pinning her to the bed as he held himself up on his forearms. He twined both hands through her hair as they let out twin moans octaves apart but in perfect harmony. Their kisses were slow but thorough, steering the moment toward something more heated.
Knowing full well what he was about to unleash, he kissed her in that deliciously intoxicating way that never fails to divest her of all self control. Heat bloomed low in her belly, her whole body warming as she came alive beneath him.
Now he'd done it.