A/N: I should put this in my song collection stories but since there is no conversation here, I will let this be a standalone.
I know I promised that I will update The Rose this week but in lieu of it, I give you this. I am already writing Chapter 12 but again, super busy at work. We have lots of upcoming, say, projects and I have to think of designs for our manuals. So apologies.
The song is by Christina Perri. I could have done it for Once Upon A Time, since the lovely, dashing, and devilishly handsome Colin O'Donoghue was in the music video, but I chose to do it for Caskett.
It wasn't for her to voice her feelings. Ever. She always had one foot out the door, just in case. She runs away. That's who she is. Then he came and weaselled most of her secrets out of her. It was like he was a truth serum that coaxed everything from her. But what is surprising is that she didn't complain much; she didn't care.
He knew it, but he didn't push. He didn't take advantage of anything that she isn't comfortable with sharing. Just bits and pieces of her life that she wants to divulge and let the rest take off. He's patient. He can wait.
Until that string broke. But when it did, she came to him, apologising, and he took it. He took it and continued to adore her, worship her, love her. Every fibre of her being.
He knew she came to accept what she feels about him but still, she found it difficult to say it. She lets him see the way she looks at him, the way she held his hands when trouble arose, the way she touches his cheeks in the evening before she drifts off to sleep. It's her way of telling him. Still he doesn't mind. She's his and he can live with it. As a writer, actions speak louder than words anyway.
Until that day she was almost torn away from him, again. They were just starting and she nearly was gone. She said her goodbyes then. And just before he went out the door, it tumbled out of her mouth. Those words she was scared of saying. (For which we ask, should it always be this way? When their lives are in great peril?) He smiled at her, let himself out, and came back for her for he cannot let her be alone, cannot let her be afraid alone even if she came to peace with what would have happened.
Until a few weeks later, he told her he wanted her to be his forever not because she chose to accept an opportunity to grow but because he cannot live without her. The joy in her eyes when she accepted is etched in his mind forever.
And from then on, she let go. Any piece of the wall around her was gone. Any chance she gets, she says it out loud, for him, for anyone who can hear it. She really doesn't care anymore.
The trek was perilous and tedious in ways only they understand but they managed to muddle through it. Especially him. Whatever you want to call it, whether fate or destiny, Richard Castle was led to Kate Beckett. They complete each other's puzzles. Each other are strength and weakness. Each other are home.
And I know
The scariest part is letting go
Let my love be the light that guides you home