Kate slowly awoke from her deep sleep with blurry eyes, attempting to focus on the figure before her as the rest of her senses caught up. She felt warm and comfortable, she gathered that much. From what she could tell, she was in someone's arms...or vice versa.
Pulling her head back slightly, she attempted to shake her head hard enough to move the wild strands of hair away from her eyes, without waking the man in front of her. When she managed to do so, she bit her bottom lip and grimaced. Sure enough, she and Rick Castle were...cuddling. However, she knew if he awoke and saw them in this current position, she couldn't deny the fact that she was reciprocating the cuddle. So as slowly and quietly as possible, Kate began to untangle her limbs from his, biting her bottom lip and casting weary looks at his face in an attempt to catch any signs of his awakening.
After what felt like an hour, Kate managed to remove one arm from underneath Castle's solid body without waking up. With an exasperated sigh, she rolled her eyes and blew a few strands of loose hair out of her eyes before trying to remove her pinned left leg next. A snuffle from him caused her to freeze, and she couldn't help darting her eyes wildly to his slack face.
"Oh, for Pete's sake," she moaned underneath her breath. She plopped her head back down onto the pillow and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she found herself staring into twinkling, blue orbs. "Crap."
"Good morning, sunshine," he said, the pure amusement and joy in his voice unmistakable. Castle moved enough to prop his head up with his hand, but didn't bother to remove his entangled legs from her own. He only smirked.
Kate narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.
"Sleep well?" he asked.
"Shut up."
"Not a morning person, I see," he claimed, the amusement doubling with each passing second in his tone of voice. "Not surprised, really."
Rather than wasting her breath with a reply she knew was going to be ignored and responded by another so-called 'amusing' comment, Kate sighed heavily into the pillow and closed her eyes again.
"So, what's the game plan?"
She looked up in confusion.
He tilted his head to the side, smiling so that a dimple accented his cheek, and repeated, "Game plan? Today? And, by the way, your hair looks very good like that. All mussed up and wild." He grinned widely. "Makes you look," he paused and continued delicately, "Cute."
Kate frowned, furrowed her brow, made a small groan of annoyance, and extracted her limbs jerkily from his own. She pretended not to feel the loss of his warmth or weight or the comfort she had told herself she didn't feel, and his small frown of disappointment.
When she stood by the side of the bed and looked down at his prone figure with his stubble covered cheeks, mussed and untamed hair sticking up, and slightly parted lips as he stared up at her with his wide blue eyes, she ignored the bolt of desire that she felt and shook her head.
"My plan is to take a shower, and get some very strong and powerful coffee."
He sat up and rested his back against the headboard, allowing the white sheets to pool around his nearly exposed waist. She diverted her gaze quickly.
"I can help you with the latter," he said quickly before shooting her a lazy grin and adding, "Or both."
She rolled her eyes in mock disgust and turned away. "Coffee, Castle. Now."
When she reached the bathroom, and was about to close the door, she heard him call out, "You totally cuddled me!"
Kate responded with an audible and frustrated sigh, and slamming of the door.
An hour later, Kate cradled a much need cup of coffee at the kitchen counter. The memory of the position she woke up in made her moan in embarrassment, and sink her head to her mug.
Castle strode in at that moment dressed casually in jeans and a plain, black sweatshirt. He smiled as he rounded the counter on the opposite of her and said, "Must be a good memory."
Kate gave him a light glare, and took a sip of her hot coffee.
After he poured a good amount of the brew in his own mug, he rested his arms on the counter top and leveled his gaze in her direction, sipping from his mug every few moments. Finally he stood a little straighter and lightly cleared his throat. "Hey, Beckett-"
Her head snapped up quickly, and he faltered in his speech.
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything," he stated, a half smile on his face as he tried to assuage any uncomfortable feelings she may have had with his usual charm and humor.
"Don't worry about it, Castle." She offered him a little smile of her own.
After a comfortable silence, he looked at his watch then upstairs. "Weird. Alexis is usually up and pestering me about breakfast right about now."
Kate shrugged. "Maybe she's exhausted after, well, you know."
Castle's lips turned downward a little, and he solemnly replied, "Yeah. Maybe."
After draining the last bit of coffee in her mug, Kate sat on the stool, arms folded on the counter, and looked around a little uncomfortably. Castle began to drum his fingers. As her own curled around her now empty mug, she watched his. They were long, elegant fingers. A writer's fingers. She felt the urge to reach forward to see if they felt as soft as they looked right then. Kate looked up slowly, and once again was met with startling blue eyes.
Silently they looked at one another with soft expressions, neither speaking but both content with that. This was simple, uncomplicated. Words only muddled everything up further. Which, for a writer, was especially easy to do. More especially, for Richard Castle.
He looked down at their hands, resting side by side without touching on the counter. When he looked up again and met her brown eyes, he opened his mouth to speak. "Kate, I-"
But his words only muddled everything up further in her mind. She slipped her hand off the counter and avoided his gaze somewhat embarrassed, thankful for the sound of Alexis' footsteps trotting down the stairs. She approached the two adults with a small, shy smile.
"Morning," she said softly, greeting Kate with a hug and her father with a peck on the cheek. She went to the fridge, pulled out a carton of orange juice and thanked her father when he pulled down a glass from the cabinet and handed it to her.
After taking a healthy gulp, she set her glass down and looked at the two expectantly. "What's going on?"
"What? Nothing," her father assured her, too quickly for her tastes but she let it go with a sidelong look.
Kate only offered the teen a polite smile.
"Anything on the agenda today?" Alexis asked her father.
He raised his eyebrows and cocked a shoulder. "Not really, no. Is there anything you'd like to do?" He glanced over at Beckett, then looked away.
Alexis tilted her head to the side in thought, not missing her father's look to his partner. "How about we go out? All of us."
Kate blinked and pulled her head back, halfway through saying, "Oh, no. I've already imposed enough as it is," when Castle chimed in with, "Of course! Anyplace specific in mind?"
However his daughter ignored his question when she turned to face Beckett fully, half astonished. "Imposing? You? Not in a million years."
Castle nodded rigorously. "A billion."
After a beat, the red head turned towards her father again and offered, "How about a movie? Or we can eat out?"
"Why not both?" Her father asked, raising his hands and shrugging. Alexis smiled and nodded, her dimples reminding Kate of this morning, so when the two Castles looked at her expectantly she visibly started and said, "Right, yes, food. Uh, movie. Great," she finished awkwardly with a smile.
Alexis' smile widened, and she gave her father a quick hug that he reciprocated wholeheartedly, before bounding upstairs. Alone once again, the two adults looked at one another before Castle rounded the counter and stood next to her. He cleared his throat, and made as if to move away before he slowly turned and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
"I'm glad you stayed," he said warmly, before removing his hand slowly and moving away towards the stairs.
Kate smiled and said to herself, "Me too."
She slid off the stool and followed after him.
TBC...
Sorry for the long wait, but between the school year
wrapping up ,work ,and my DEP obligations, life has been a little hectic.
Please review!