Disclaimer: I doubt Andrew Marlowe worries about dropping 300 bucks for new brakes.
"One movie," she promises.
"Two."
She throws him a look. "One. I meant what I said earlier. You two need to spend time on your own," she says seriously, kicking her flip flops onto the mat by the door. He glances around to see if Alexis is nearby, but Kate hears her tinkering around in the living room. She'd walked out to greet Kate shyly for a moment before exclaiming that she had to finish her Lego house.
"So you meant what you said yesterday."
She crosses her arms over her chest. "Of course I did. Do I look like the type of person to go back on my word, Rick?"
He shrugs. "I was hoping you'd change your mind about—how did you put it—sticking around."
Oh.
Is that really what she'd said?
She softens, lets her hands fall from their defensive position. "I didn't mean it like that. I just…" she sighs. "This isn't about the two of us anymore. There's another person in the mix now, a little girl that you're responsible for. What if she gets attached and this falls apart?"
"Why are you so sure that it will?"
"That's not what I'm saying. No matter how deep our connection runs, Rick, this is still new. It's crazy to think about anything beyond tomorrow, or tonight, even."
"Nothing is more important to me than my little girl, Kate. Do you really think I'd let her get hurt?"
She frowns. "Then why are we even having this conversation?"
He sighs. "I don't know." She opens her mouth to speak, but he cuts her off. "I've watched you go through a lot since that first night that I met you, wouldn't you say?" She nods. "So it's probably safe to say that I've learned a lot about your character since then, about who you are. The point is…I trust you. So if things don't work out for us in the end, I'd like to think that if Alexis does become attached to you, you'd be there for her."
"I would."
"Okay then."
His eyes bore into hers as if he's waiting for something, waiting for her to argue or….
She has a feeling that this isn't what's bothering her. And, perhaps, worse of all, he knows it isn't the whole story.
But she's too tired to read too much into it and she'd probably do well to figure it out on her own. For now, she just wants to pig out on ice cream and lay her head on his shoulder while they watch a movie.
"Let's shelve this conversation for later, shall we?" he asks, reading her mind.
She lets out a breath, nods. She presses a kiss to his lips, lingering on the corners of his mouth.
"I do adore you, you know," she whispers against him.
He laughs, brushing his lips over hers. "I know you do."
"And?" She knocks her head against his playfully.
"You're not so bad yourself?" he jokes. She narrows her eyes at him and wraps her fingers around his ear, tugging.
He winces in pain. "Ow. Ouch. Okay, okay. I adore you, too." She lets go, hums in disapproval. "That was mean," he says, rubbing his ear delicately.
She huffs. He narrows his eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't be allowed to have any ice cream."
She scoffs. "There's a threat. If your creations are half of what you make them out to be, I'm not so sure I want any."
"Oh, you want some," he says suggestively, tugging her close. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "You gonna kiss me for real, or what?" she asks impatiently.
"Well, since you—" She silences him with an exasperated sigh before she melds her mouth to his. Her hands linger tentatively at his hips as his hands slide to cradle her face. He nips at her bottom lip before she slips her mouth open to brush her tongue against his.
She pulls away gently, letting her hand scrape the back of his neck affectionately. "We should probably go pop in that movie," she says softly.
"Yeah," he says breathlessly. He kisses her quickly before she follows him into the living room.
"This is disgusting," she groans around a mouthful of sherbet ice cream, Oreos, chocolate sauce, and gummy bears.
"It's my favorite," he pouts.
Alexis wraps her mouth around a spoonful and shrugs. "I like it." Castle throws Kate a look. See?
She shakes her head. "The combination doesn't make any sense."
"That's the point," he says, licking juice from his thumb.
Kate peers into Alexis's bowl, impressed. "There's a concoction I can get behind."
Alexis beams, adding a few sprinkles to her bowl of chocolate ice cream and Oreos.
"Chocolate and chocolate? Where's the fun in that?" he makes a face before turning to Alexis. "No offense, Pumpkin." He presses a kiss to her head.
"Sometimes simple is better," Kate defends.
He shakes his head. "Not when it comes to ice cream."
"Call me if you invent something with a little cohesion," she retorts, grabbing her own bowl of coffee ice cream and chocolate sprinkles. Alexis trails after her, red ponytail bobbing.
"Cohesion is so boring, Beckett," he calls after her as he follow them in, leaving a mess of toppings on table for them to take care of later.
Kate settles down on the couch, tucking her legs off to the side. Alexis wiggles into a huge armchair in the corner, creating an image of something out of Alice in Wonderland.
Rick winks at Kate before he makes his way to the chair and squats as if he's going to sit on top of Alexis.
"Dad!" she squeals.
He jumps up comically, spinning around to face his daughter. "I'm so sorry, Alexis. I almost didn't see you there." He flicks a grin back at Kate, who shakes her head, amused.
Alexis glares at him, doesn't buy it for a second. "Sure, Dad." Kate hides a laugh behind her bowl.
"She usually finds it funny," he explains to Kate as he settles down next to her.
She raises an eyebrow. "Usually? How many times have you pulled that?"
He shrugs, takes a bite of his ice cream. "Only twice since we've been here."
"You've been here a day," she says slowly.
"What's your point?" he says, feigning seriousness.
Kate blinks once at him before she turns her gaze to Alexis. "Your Dad is a strange man, Alexis."
"Tell me about it," Alexis agrees, rolling her eyes.
"Shh. Ladies, I am trying to watch a movie over here."
Kate throws a pillow at him.
Sorry about the length of this one. Short chapter is better than none, though, right? Doesn't look like my break is going to be very restful, but I'll do my best to get a longer Chapter 15 to you when I can, whenever that may be.
Olivia