Disclaimer: Though I wish I owned Castle, I am nothing more than a fan with a love for writing.
Filled with the Ink of Our Hearts
Taking in a deep breath, Kate lay back against the table as the buzzing started.
"You ready?" The man next to her hip asked, the needle poised above her.
She nodded and closed her eyes as the needle made contact with her body.
The pain was instant; like a bee sting that remained constant.
Her thoughts drifted, a slow smile forming on her face as she thought about the reason she was here.
To say that she loved him was an understatement. He is her everything, and since they've been together, she hasn't been happier.
With their one year anniversary in a couple days, she decided to surprise him with this.
A whole year of being married. It's seems so unreal.
She glances down to her hip as the black swirl of letters slowly appears on her skin.
Kate had been thinking of what to get him for the last couple months. She had stumbled upon this idea one night while thinking back to the case where she'd joked with Castle about her tattoo. The tattoo that didn't exist.
The first time they had gotten together, he'd been surprised at the lack of ink on her skin. She'd laughed, telling him that he was so gullible, especially believing her the time she mentioned a naval ring. He'd pouted about her little white lie, which she'd been quick to kiss off of his face.
Now as she sits in this chair, the buzz of the needle whirling around her thoughts, Kate's happy that she's here.
She'd told him she had a couple errands to run, leaving him alone to write at the loft. He'd waved her off with a quick kiss goodbye, and then resumed his writing.
The man wiped a towel over her hip, cleaning off the excess ink. He sat back, looking at his work, and nodded his head.
"There. All done. Why don't you head over to the mirror and take a look." He said, nodding towards the full length mirror across the room.
Kate got up and walked over to the mirror, glancing down at the swirling black letters on her skin. The word 'Always' reflected back to her and her face lit up with a grin. She gently traced the word with her thumb before turning back to the artist.
"I love it. It's beautiful, thank you so much."
He smiled at her, nodding. Continuing on, her gave her directions for care over the next couple days, and wished her luck with the gift.
Kate laughed, so excited for Castle to see it.
Now all she had to do was keep him from seeing it for two days. Considering that they were frequently free of clothes, it was going to be difficult.
After leaving the tattoo parlor, Kate picked up Italian food from their favorite place and headed back to the loft.
Opening the door, she heard the familiar click of the keyboard coming from his office. Placing the food on the counter, she walked into the room, noticing the deep look of concentration on his face. Kate smiled and silently walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his cheek. Castle leaned his head back against her neck and finished typing the paragraph before closing his laptop.
"Nikki and Rook getting into trouble again?" She mumbled playfully into his ear.
Castle laughed and turned his chair around, pulling Beckett into his lap. "Aren't they always?"
She laughed and nodded, leaning in to give him a sweet kiss.
"Get all your errands done?"
"Yup. I stopped at Biscotto's and picked up supper for us too."
He sighed against her neck. "Best wife ever."
Kate smiled, kissing him once more. "C'mon stud, let's go eat before it gets cold."
That night when getting ready for bed, Kate had made sure to change while Castle was preoccupied, making sure he couldn't get a glimpse of her present.
They were both still exhausted from the case they'd wrapped up the day before, so going to bed without any other interruptions or…activities, wasn't that hard.
Early the next morning, the couple woke up to the shrill sound of her cell phone breaking the silence.
"Beckett." She answered sleepily.
Dispatch informed her of a murder, rambling off the address.
Castle rolled toward her as she was hanging up, slinging an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.
"Body drop?"
"Mhm, 58th Street, at the the Savoy."
"Ooh, scandalous murder at the hotel. The lover did it. No wait, the spouse, seeking revenge. Case solved. Let's go back to sleep." He mumbled into her shoulder.
Kate laughed, carding her fingers through his hair.
"C'mon babe, time to get up. Let's go prove this theory of yours."
She got up, heading towards the bathroom. Castle followed after her, only to be stopped with a hand against his chest.
"You go make coffee, I'm gonna shower." Kate said, placing a quick kiss against his lips and shutting the door, not giving him the chance to argue or pout.
Forty-five minutes later, the couple walked into the hotel room, past the uniforms and crime scene tape.
After seeing the torn apart room and the body of a man stabbed to death lying half naked across the bed, Castle's theory from this morning didn't look that far off.
After spending all day chasing down leads, Kate didn't have to try hard to keep the tattoo secret that night when the pair finally got to the loft. It was almost midnight, and after working non-stop on the case all day, the couple was happy to get home and go straight to bed.
The next morning, Beckett woke to her alarm going off. She groaned, rolling over to turn it off. Sighing, she looked over at her husband who remained undisturbed by the loud noise. Kate always teased about how heavy of a sleeper he was.
Leaning closer, she gave him a gentle kiss and decided to jump in the shower. It would be better to get dressed and ready before he tried to persuade her into letting him join.
Stepping out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, she was surprised to see the bed empty and the smell of coffee wafting into the bedroom.
Castle came in moments later with two steaming cups.
"Morning." She said with a smile, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'd didn't think you'd be up yet."
"I heard the shower, figured you could use a good cup of coffee before work." Rick said, handing her the mug.
Beckett smiled when she looked at it and saw the foam heart. "What's this for?" She said, leaning in to give him an appreciative kiss.
He shrugged, kissing her again. "Thought I'd start our special day off right. Happy anniversary Mrs. Castle."
Kate giggled and gave him a hard kiss. "Happy anniversary Mr. Beckett."
Castle groaned into her neck, making her laugh even more. "A year later and you're still calling me that."
"Oh, would you rather have me call you something else….like honeybun, cupcake, sugar, babycakes?" She teased. "I can see it now. You walking into the precinct after a meeting with your publisher, me greeting you with 'Hey stud muffin, how was the meeting?' I bet the boys would love it."
"Yeah you laugh now, but as soon as I called you something like that they'd have a field day with it….Cuddle muffin."
"You wouldn't." She said, sending him a glare.
"I guess we'll just have to find out baby-cakes."
Beckett nipped at his lip before playfully shoving his chest.
It was going to be a good day.
Turns out, it was a good day. They managed to wrap up the case shortly after lunch, leaving the rest of the afternoon for paperwork.
When they had arrived at the precinct that morning, the boys had ribbed them with jokes about putting up with being married to each other for a whole year, making all of them laugh. After the joking was done, they did however truly congratulate both of them.
Now being almost four o'clock, Kate silently prayed that they could make it through the next hour without a call for a body drop. If the clock strikes five without any interruptions, she was free to go and enjoy the rest of her night with her husband.
Both of them had been crossing their fingers all morning that the case would be wrapped up. After the suspect was in the box and the confession signed, both let out a sigh of relief.
Now with less than twenty minutes until freedom, the couple sat on the edge of their seats.
As the clock on her computer finally hit five o'clock, Beckett looked over at her husband with an excited smile. Turning her computer off, she stood up and wished the boys a good night before grabbing her husband's hand and pulling him towards the elevator.
She could hear Ryan and Esposito joking about not staying up too late and "staying safe". Kate silenced them with a withering glare over her shoulder.
It was finally time. They had decided to stay in and have dinner instead of going to a fancy restaurant.
While Kate was getting ready, Castle was in the kitchen preparing a pasta dish.
When she emerged from the bedroom, the sound of soft jazz filtered through the room. The lights were dimmed and soft candles were spread throughout the loft. Kate gasped at how beautiful it looked. The table was set with a simple white tablecloth and their fancy plateware. It looked gorgeous.
Castle was dancing along to the music in the kitchen, humming softly. She smiled at the sight of her husband being so carefree and happy. It melted her heart that this is what she got to look for to the rest of her life. She wouldn't trade it for anything.
Silently, she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, swaying with him and placing a kiss between his shoulder blades.
Setting the spatula down, he turned around to return the embrace, only to be stopped by the sight of her. It took his breath away how gorgeous she looked. Her chestnut curls framed her beautiful face. The tight black knee length dress fit her body like a glove. But beyond all of that, she looked so open and happy. Her eyes carried a light that made them glow. The smile Kate gave him was the one reserved for only him, and it made his heart flutter. Leaning in, he rested their foreheads together, sighing happily. He kissed her gently, content to hold her in his arms.
"You look extraordinary Kate." Castle whispered against her lips.
She smiled, giving him a kiss before running her fingers through his hair.
"You're not so bad yourself babe." Beckett said appreciatively, looking down at his blue button up and dress pants that hugged his ass just right.
Castle chuckled, pulling back from her. "As much as I love this, I better stir the sauce before it burns."
Kate laughed, patting his butt and heading towards the fridge to grab a bottle of chilled wine.
They had sat down together, enjoying their meal, laughing at how Castle had correctly predicted the outcome to their case in his half asleep state.
After the meal was finished, he got up and ran into office, coming back with two small boxes wrapped in plain white paper with a simple gold ribbon.
Taking Kate's hand and pulling her over to the couch, Castle sat down and handed her the smallest box.
She unwrapped the gift, lifting the lid off of the box to reveal a small gold bracelet. Kate laughed when she saw that the bracelet was clasped together, creating handcuffs.
Castle smiled at her expression. "I saw it and couldn't resist."
"I love it." She said, leaning in and giving him a kiss.
He handed her the second and slightly bigger box. "Using your amazing Detective skills, you've already probably guessed that it's jewelry. I know it's kinda cliché, and I already got you the bracelet, but I got the idea while getting that piece, and I just-"
"Hey," she said, interrupting him, "I'm sure I'll love it. It's from you, and I know it wouldn't be anything less than perfect."
Castle ducked his head. His wife was amazing.
She opened the box, gasping when she saw the beautiful gold necklace. It was a circular pendent. On one side was their word. Always. On the other side, it was the date of their wedding.
"Castle…it's, it's gorgeous." She said, carefully placing the necklace on the coffee table before climbing into his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I love you, so much." Beckett said, giving him a hard kiss.
He eagerly returned the kiss, pulling her tighter against him. "I love you too, Kate."
After a few more kisses, he pulled back slightly, reaching into his jacket pocket. "I have one more gift."
"Castle, you didn't have to get me anything else. Both of these gifts are so amazing."
He gave a short kiss to quiet her. "This is a gift for both of us."
Pulling out a plain white envelope, he handed it to her silently.
Beckett opened it tentatively, her confusion clear when she pulled out a travel brochure. "A pamphlet for Bora Bora?"
He smiled shyly. "Well I figured since we couldn't go to Bora Bora because of my knee a couple of years ago, and since we haven't had a real case-free vacation since our skiing trip, that we could do this. It's just the pamphlet because I didn't want to book the dates until I knew you could get the time off from work. I also didn't want to book the tickets in case you changed your mind and wanted to go somewhere else, or-"
Kate cut him off once again with a tight hug, her fingers stroking through the hairs at the nape of his neck. "Baby it's perfect. I love it, and I would love to go to Bora Bora with you."
He smiled into her hair, squeezing her strongly; overwhelmed with the amount of love he has for her.
They sat there, content in each other's arms. After a while, Kate pulled back, smiling at him. "I think it's time for your present."
She got up, intertwining their hands and pulling him into the bedroom.
"I like where this is going." He said when she told him to sit on the bed.
Kate gave him a teasing glare. "Shut up and close your eyes."
Putting a hand over his eyes, he closed them and waited patiently. "Not that I'm not loving where this is going, but I'm not exactly sure how this is my present…because I'm pretty sure I get this present almost every night." He teased.
Beckett walked over to him, smacking his arm. "Your gift is not me…though that is a pretty great present." She said, laughing.
"Open your eyes babe." She whispered. When he did, he was met with the site of his gorgeous wife, dressed in only her matching bra and panties. Momentarily distracted by her clothing, or lack thereof, he failed to notice the ink adorning her skin.
"Am I missing something? Because I don't get-" He stopped talking, his eyes glued to her hip.
Castle's eyes widened and he lifted a hand to gently grasp her hip, tracing his thumb over the bone, over the words that swirled on her skin. "You…you got a tattoo. Of our word? Kate this is…"
"I know, it's not exactly jewelry or a trip to Bora Bora, but-"
"It's great…perfect." Castle said, looking at her with awe.
The grin that came across her face could light up the city. "I've been trying to figure out what to get you for months. I thought of this a couple cases ago, and I don't know, it just felt right. I got this tattoo because I want you to know how much I love you…how much I will always love you. Rick, you mean more to me than anyone in this world. Our relationship is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You, Rick…you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."
By the end of her little speech, they both had tears in their eyes. Castle didn't hesitate, and pulled her down into his lap.
He hugged her tightly, closing his eyes, overwhelmed. Kate Beckett is without a doubt the most extraordinary woman he's ever met. He could write a thousand books, filling it with his love for her, and it still wouldn't be enough. There aren't really words that can describe how much this woman means to him, but their word, Always, it's pretty damn close.
Please review and let me know what you think! I enjoyed writing this and look forward to doing more one-shots. Let me know if you have any prompts you'd like to see or any other suggestions/comments you have.
-S