Fluffiness in the Hamptons, that's all I can say. Enjoy!
You were with me the whole time: Part IIII
The sun is out, the wind exactly the right temperature, not too hot and not too cold. The sun is nice and hot as it floats in the bright blue sky. The wind makes it so incredibly nice, washing away the hotness of the sun on her skin every now and then. Her feet are planted on the warm sand, the waves of the sea coming back every now and then to wash over them, the feet sinking more and more into the sand. It feels like standing in quicksand, the mixture of sand and water slowly but surely eating them up. The water looks beautiful, so blue. Blue like his eyes. Oh, the way she can drown in them. So beautiful and bright blue.
She smiles, looking over the sea, into the sky, enjoying the sun as it warms her body. Her hands are fiddling with a seashell she found not too long ago, until she stopped at this exact place to stand and revel in this moment. Her eyes close, a smile spreading across her face as she feels something brushing against her sides, coming around her waist. Him. Hands fold against her stomach, fingers lacing together and settling there. She feels his lips on the skin between her neck and her shoulder, lips gently placed on it, kissing up and up until they reach her ear and then let go. His chin settles on her shoulder, his front fully connecting to her back.
She relaxes into him, her shoulders letting go of all the tension, a sigh leaving her lips as her head lulls to the side and connects with his. Her hands gently brush over his, having let go of the seashell, her fingers entwining with his on her stomach. How did she ever deserve a thing like this? This, right here, is the best feeling she's had in a long time. And it's all because of him. He makes her feel loved, makes her feel safe. She feels his lips again, this time on her cheek and her eyes open, moving to the side and they connect with his. It's truly like looking into the ocean, the beautiful blue sea actually mirroring inside his eyes, making for an even more beautiful view.
"What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" Castle says, smiling as his hands disconnect from her stomach, hanging down with their fingers still entwined as he comes to stand next to her.
"Hmm nothing, just thinking." Kate smiles and sighs, her body turning so she's now standing in front of him.
"Thinking's not nothing." Castle says, chuckling lightly.
"It's just- it's really great to be out here. I needed this."
"We can come here any time Kate, this place is yours too now."
She smiles at the thought. They're getting married. They're going to be husband and wife soon. She still can't believe it. They've come so far, and it's all actually happening. She's going to be wearing a gorgeous wedding dress, and she's going to walk down that aisle and meet him. And they're going to make promises to each other, vow to love each other until the end of their days. Always. And she wouldn't have it any other way. She's so ready. Ready to spend the rest of her life with this man, soon with a promise placed tightly around her ring finger, for the rest of their lives.
The thought makes her blush, her cheeks reddening, butterflies erupting in her stomach. She has to think back to when they first met. Oh, how frustrated she was. How much she did not need a 9-year-old following her on her cases, poking into things he shouldn't be poking into. She once said to him she was a one-and-done kind of type. Never did she imagine that her one-and-done was actually the one she said it to. Never did she imagine that that man is now the one standing in front of her, looking at her with pure love beaming from his eyes, shining through the beautiful bright blue color. Never did she know her stomach would turn every time he looked at her like that. The love and deep connection she feels for him rushing through her veins. Never did she imagine that, since the moment they met, it has always been him.
"What?" Castle asks curiously with a chuckle, probably having noticed her blush creeping upon her cheeks.
"I just- I never thought that the 9-year-old on a sugar rush would be standing in front of me now, a wedding awaiting in the near future." Kate says as she looks down in shyness, smiling.
"I know right. But I knew I'd win you over."
Kate scoffs "Right."
"Truly. I knew it would be a matter of time before you fell for my ruggedly handsomeness and my charms."
"Please." Kate scoffs again, but her smile contradicts how she meant to say those words.
"No you can't deny it, Kate."
"I am."
"We've been over this before."
"Yes we have, and I still did not fell for you the first moment I saw you."
"Yeah you did."
"No I didn't!" She laughs.
She tries to walk away, but his hand is still entwined with hers and he pulls her back "Come here," Castle laughs, their lips immediately connecting once she falls back into him.
Her hand let's go of his and goes up, coming around his neck to brush her fingers through the hair at the nape of it. She sighs contently into the kiss, her lips gently moving over his, her other hand lying gently on his shoulder from behind. His hand is cradling her cheek as they continue to kiss so sweetly, and a tiny moan releases out of her at this amazing feeling. How can she ever live without this? Without him? His thumb brushes against her cheek, sending warmth through her veins and she smiles into the kiss, not wanting to let this go, ever.
Eventually their lips do part, their foreheads connecting as they both smile.
"You still can't tell me otherwise."
"It's still not true."
"It really is though."
"Is not."
"Is too!"
"Not!" Kate laughs and she walks back, her hand holding onto his as she walks back further. "Let's go swim."
Castle's face lights up and she knows it even before he says it "Naked?"
"Not me." Kate teases "But maybe later."
"I'll hold you to that." Castle says, his mind already imagining it from the way his eyes become unfocused.
"Mind out of the gutter, writer boy." Kate teases, turning around to walk back to the house. Of course he's following her like a puppy.
"Writer man!" He shouts just before she steps inside, laughing.
He finds her in the bedroom, changed down into her underwear and he can't resist but attack her with a very inappropriate kiss while his hands roam her body. Her mind is foggy and she moans against his lips, kissing him back just as passionately. When she finally finds her strength after a few minutes – or ten – she pushes him back, promising him they'll get back to that later. He whines but lets it go, looking at the extra wiggle she puts into her hips as she walks away.
After he's changed, he walks outside and sees her standing in the sand again, walks to her and kisses her shoulder. She smiles, turning around and kisses him, lips firmly planted on his and then she pulls back, grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the water with a grin. They decide on a nice swim and go as far as they can get. Once they're going she hears him shout "Race you!" and laughs, picking up speed.
Of course, she wins.
They stop swimming and he pouts, whining "Not fair."
She laughs and swims to him, her arms coming around him and she plants kisses on his face until his pout has turned into a smile and he captures her lips, kissing her back fully. Her legs come around his hips and she crosses her ankles behind his back, her tongue coming out to explore, stroking against his as her fingers stroke through his wet hair.
Air becomes a necessity and they part, deciding to swim back to shore. Once there, they sit down on the sand, the waves of the ocean brushing against them every time it comes back. Kate closes her eyes, her face turned to the sky and enjoys the warmth of the sun shining down on her. This day has been so perfect, she could not be happier. She never used to giggle and cling to anyone, but with him? She feels free. She feels she can do anything. She loves him so incredibly much and she intends on letting herself go. So if she feels like giggling, she giggles. And when she feels like clinging to him, she'll put her arms around him, kiss him and never let him go. No matter how sappy it all is.
Thinking back to their conversation earlier about how they'd gone from oh so many years ago to this, a question appears in her mind.
"When did you actually fall in love with me?" Kate asks curiously, her eyes searching his.
She sees him thinking, gives him the time to do so, her hand sweetly joining his on the sand, fingers entangling as she smiles and waits him out.
"I don't think there is an exact moment. I think it was more a matter of time. I was so intrigued by you, never knew that I would get to know this amazing stuff about you. The more and more I got to know you – the real you, the layers of you – the more my heart was in this. I do remember that kiss-"
"The 'that was amazing' was totally about the kiss, don't deny it." She interrupts.
He chuckles "Might have been," he says squeezing her fingers "But anyway, I recall that I had a conversation with my mother during that time. And I admitted to her that- it wasn't about the books anymore. From that moment on I really did know. And boy, after sharing that kiss with you, I was completely blown away. I knew that I couldn't let you go, not anymore. I had to have more of that."
She sighs, leaning in and brushes her lips against his. Once. Twice. Three times, and sits back.
"What about you? In all fairness, when did you fall in love with me?" He smiles.
Kate laughs "Ha! Finally! He let's go of the 'first moment you saw me' stuff!" She says victoriously.
"No no- I still believe that. But since you're still not admitting to that, I'd like to hear your story."
"Mmhmm." She says in disbelief, rolls her eyes.
"Truly!" He exclaims and she chuckles.
"Truth is – my feelings for you really started that Summer before you went to the Hamptons. I'd always suppressed them, I didn't really give them any room to come out, denied it fully. But then, Esposito came to me and set me straight. Told me that you weren't hanging around for the books, that you knew so much about me that you didn't need to stick around anymore, yet you did, that it was more than just that. For both of us. I- I decided I wanted to give it a try. But then you showed up with Gina and things went kinda south." She still remembers that moment, and she also realizes that she's never told him before, her eyes connecting with his to see what this new information does to him.
She sees his face fall, realizing what she's talking about. His mouth opens, but before he can respond she continues.
"But it wasn't our time, Castle. I know that, and I'm sure you do too. Anyway, after the Summer when you came back and I saw you again I- those feelings never ceased. From then on I knew that I had feelings for you. But to say the moment I truly fell in love with you? It's the same for me, just a matter of time. I suppressed my feelings for so long, denied them so hard that I didn't actually get a chance to really feel when I fell in love with you. But after Josh and I broke up, I worked my way to you, I tried my best."
"And here we are."
"And here we are." She repeats, smiling.
"I'm glad things turned out the way they did." Castle admits.
"Me too." She sighs.
"I think it's time for dinner." Castle says as he stands up, extending his hand for her. She takes it gladly, using it as leverage to stand up herself, dropping a sweet kiss on his lips before they walk back to the house.
"Maybe after dinner we can finally skinny dip!" Castle says excitingly and she rolls her eyes.
Although, maybe it's not such a bad idea, since the last time they were interrupted by that dead body. Hmm, maybe not a bad idea at all.
She closes the back door with a smirk.
THE END.
Soooo I am honestly conflicted. There isn't much more to this story that I can tell, so I did want to end it after their Hamptons day (I mean, they go back to work after so that isn't relevant to the thought behind this story). Mind you, if you guys want, I will definitely consider writing an M-rated chapter of them skinny dipping (and more hello) to end things off. So that is all up to you! Let me know! As for now- this story has sadly come to an end!
Please review and let me know what you've thought of this story. Thank you all so much for reading and for all the amazing reviews that I've received for this. You're all the best!
Much love!
Susanne