kimmiesjoy

4.04am

She was warm and soft and floating in a golden sea of ecstasy.

Heat crinkled over her skin like freshly laundered sheets, crisp and new. She was laying on her back in the softest sand and somewhere up above her clouds passed, in random funny shapes.

Kate reached over to nudge Castle, to tear his attention away from his phone and show him. She pointed up at the sky and smiled, but he wasn't paying attention.

She wanted to show him her new bikini, make him stare up with her at the foxes and butterflies that danced in the shapes of fluffy white clouds floating overhead. They chased each other across the sky and she laughed, extending her hand for him.

But every time she reached, he resisted, unknowingly turning at the wrong time so they just missed each others touch and whatever game he was playing would make an obnoxious noise.

Beep Beep

Kate narrowed her eyes and reached out to snatch the stupid phone from his hand. It was intruding on her quiet time, dividing his attention unfairly and she was determined to throw it far far away from him...

Beep Beep

Fingers stretching out, her hand collided with something hard and she stirred, cracking one eye open in disbelief.

She lay in the beautifully cocooning darkness of his bedroom hoping the horrible sound would fade into the distance, be part of the dream that lingered too intensely in her conscious mind.

Beep Beep.

Clearly not!

Rolling over in the bed, she pulled away from the clinging warmth of Castle. Her arm sliding from the curve of his waist. Her fingers skimmed his skin when she reluctantly shifted away and she kept her eyes closed wondering if she would be able to fall back to sleep...

Beep Beep.

"Unghhff...kidding me?" Kate lifted up on her elbow, flipping her hair away from her face so she could squint at the neon light before smacking her hand on the alarm clock.

4:05am

Seriously?

Kate growled, grumbling under her breath as she rolled back towards Castle. Hot air shooting through her nose as she stared at him, annoyed she had been woken up, angrier still that he had not.

She extended her hand, curling her fingers tempted to punch him, but changing her mind at the last second and grabbing his shoulder instead, shaking hard.

"Castle..." She groused into the darkness of the room, fingers gripping his shoulder as she shook him again.

"Faaanaaaam?" He moaned rolling onto his back, his arm swinging wildly and knocking her flat into the bed.

"Jackass." She hissed, kicking out at him. "Hey Castle, wake the hell up."

One eye slid open, closing again fast but she kicked him again, the harsh protrusion of her toes catching at his thigh as she shoved, tempted to boot him straight out of the bed.

"Kaa...sommmmthinnnn?" He moaned forcing both eyes open, his mind not quite keeping pace with his mouth.

Nothing unusual there then.

"Yeah." Kate barked at him, poking him again with her toe. "Yeah somethingalright." She poked again, finding the extra squidgy skin of his calf and digging in hard.

"Heeey," Castle rubbed over his jaw with the palm of his hand staring at her in annoyance as he woke up. "quit it."

"What time...did you say we had to be up?" She growled, pulling the sheet up to her chest, tucking it under her arms. She leant back against the headboard drumming her fingers.

"You woke me up to ask..." He turned and caught sight of her eyes, the dangerous flash of anger, and the way her mouth pressed together. "Five, I said ... five."

"Well the alarm is going off now."

"But..." He huffed, thudding heavily into the mattress as he leant across her. He used his elbows to hold him up, pinning her body to the bed with the dead weight of his sleepy form so he could stare at the clock. "I set it for 5:04."

Castle yawned widely and rolled away but was still partially sprawled across her body, rubbing his face in confusion.

"No, you set it for 4:05." Kate shoved him sideways so he fell back flat onto the mattress, scrunching the sheet up under her chin. "Which, by the way, is a stupid time."

Castle yawned again, stretching his legs out, rolling his ankles and hearing them pop. "It's the perfect time, you're just grumpy." He tilted sideways, but didn't lean on her this time.

Moving over to face her, fingers sliding under his pillow as his head settled and his eyes closed. "And stop glaring at me, I'm trying to sleep."

"Its a stupid time," Kate shoved him again, pulling his arm out from underneath the pillow and dragging it around her shoulders, fitting into his body as she grumbled under her breath. "Why 5:04? Why not 5:05?" Slipping her fingers between his, Kate pulled his other hand around her waist, letting out a long slow sigh when she was finally wrapped in him completely. "Or even 5am?" She yawned, as she wondered.

Castle caught the yawn and mirrored it, his chin falling into the hollow of her shoulder "It's the perfect time." He tugged her back against him, lips pressing lightly to her cheek as he spoke.

"Why?" She mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Because, if I have to get up at ten past, then it gives me one whole minute before it's a real time and..."

"A realtime?" She asked on a sigh, confused but not really caring. He really was heavenly to curl up with, warm and soft in all the right places, her human pillow. But strong and protective as he held her to his chest.

"Yes 5:05."

"5:04 isn't a real time?" She yawned again, head tipping back into the warmth of his body. Her ear close enough to catch the faint beats of his heart every now and then...when the silence prevailed.

"Nope." Castle squeezed her in response, linking the rest of their fingers together and smiling when he felt her relax against him completely. "It's a non entity time, when you can get away with staying in bed a little longer, or re reading that sentence just once more." He smiled again when she made a noise of confusion under her breath.

"Sometimes, when I'm writing, I get stuck and I think, it's 2:17 that means I have three whole minutes until I have to do something, and I re read and I re read..." He gripped her tighter. "It's not a real time, it's a get away with things time." Castle sighed, "Does that make sense?" He wondered, not entirely sure himself.

"I don't...Castle..." She groaned. "It's too early for this."

"I know." He said quietly into her ear, breathing out slowly when he felt her body grow heavier in his arms, her breathing even out. "But Kate..."

"Mmmm." She managed before drifting off.

"I'm not sleepy anymore."