Disclaimer: They're not mine. I'm only borrowing them for the summer. Andrew Marlowe is doing a spectacular job. Way better than I could ever do.
And All The Mornings Ever After
Chapter 29 – What's Yours Is Mine
"Hey, how're you doing?" asked Castle, running a hand across Kate's shoulder and down her back where she sat at the kitchen counter.
He had awoken to an empty bed and a mild state of panic. After only three nights of having Kate sleeping beside him, it felt unsettlingly strange to waken up and not find her there in bed with him. So he got up immediately, quite against his nature, and went to seek her out.
Kate was bowed over the counter, a cup of coffee clutched to her chest, bare toes curled around the bar of the stool she was sitting on while she worked her way through yesterday's New York Times. Her white tank highlighted the blue-green bruises at her exposed shoulders, her elbows, the top of her spine, and Castle winced to see them there, the seemingly endless reminder of his own stupidity.
"Morning," she mumbled, reaching up to accept the kiss he planted on her forehead. "I made coffee. I hope you don't mind?" she asked, swiveling on the stool so that her long, bare legs almost robbed him of coherent thought.
"Mind? Kate, why would I mind?" he asked, trying to stay focused, because this was an important point that needed stressing.
He yawned and stretched so fully that his tee shirt rode up to expose his pale, muscled stomach, and the dark seam of hair that disappeared beneath the waistband of his black, Calvin Klein boxer shorts.
Kate felt her cheeks flush with pleasure as she openly watched him, her newspaper immediately discarded and forgotten.
"What?" he asked, once the yawn tears had cleared from his eyes.
Kate smirked. "Nothing. Just…morning," she said, tugging on his shirt to bring him close enough for a good morning kiss.
"Let me get coffee. You want a top up?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder to check her cup, crowding against her back until she pushed back against him, laying her head against his shoulder, enjoying the warmth seeping into her from her partner's body.
"Coffee, Kate," he growled, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head before letting her go.
"And about before, I want you to feel totally at home here. Make a mess if you want, put your feet up on the couch, do your own laundry or let me do it for you, I don't care. Just, please, treat this like your home. Okay?"
"Castle," Kate complained, a slight moan to her voice. "I told you already."
"Too soon. I know. But it doesn't mean we can't practice. Right?" he asked hopefully.
The look on his face: just too damn sweet and adorable. So much wanting and hoping and wishing and willing for her to completely refuse him. She had landed up on his doorstep proclaiming herself after all.
"Top up my coffee, Castle, and let's take it from there," she said, breaking into a smile at his grateful, delighted grin.
"What?" asked Kate, following his back as he turned away from her to grab a mug for himself from the cabinet.
"You didn't say no, Kate Beckett, and that is good enough for me."
God he deserved more than this. More than her caution and constant withholding. What right did she have to deny this man anything? This man who loved her as completely as he did. Loved her enough to wait four years, and remain cheerful and constant while she asked him to wait some more.
"You know you're right. I didn't say no," she said, raising her eyes to him from under long lashes, her steady gaze telegraphing so many reasons to be cheerful. "I promise we'll get there, Rick. Just…let's enjoy this part too. Okay? New stuff everyday. Blink and you'll miss it," she said, accepting the refilled cup of coffee from him.
"I hear you," he said, taking a long drink of coffee, and then nodding slowly, thoughtfully at her as he considered her point.
"So, you gonna make me breakfast or do I have to kick you out of your own kitchen?" she teased, pleased to have negotiated them out of an awkward backwater for now.
"What would my lady desire?"
Kate arched her eyebrow, giving him a long, hot look.
"Desire? Really?" she asked, pressing her lips together to withhold a smile.
"Mind out of the gutter for a minute, Beckett, if you think you can manage that. Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, or we have cereal, toast. Anything appealing?"
"Aside from you, you mean?" she teased mercilessly.
"Kate, do I have to come over there and spank you?"
"Oh, yes please," she purred, leaning towards him over the counter, her eyes dancing as she enjoyed the tease.
"Playing with fire there, Kate."
"Cereal," she said, giving in to this sensible mood he seemed to be in.
"Cereal it is. You want some berries with that?"
"Mmm, yes please."
"So, did you think anymore about the job?" he asked barely a second later, glancing over at her as he pulled a box of muesli from the cabinet, and then reached for a couple of bowls. He tried to keep his voice light, but his overly chirpy tone betrayed him.
Ah, so that explained his lack of friskiness this morning. He'd woken up alone, she was sitting by herself in the kitchen, and he thought…
"Castle, I'm fine," she said, tilting her head to the side to gaze softly at him. "Let's just have breakfast, decide where we're going with Kevin and Jenny tonight, and we can talk later. Okay?"
"Casual or smart?" he asked, giving in to her request, because she seemed happy enough. The upset and sobs of the previous evening passed over like a fast-moving storm cloud.
Kate nodded gratefully at him.
"Eh, somewhere busy I think. I'm…can I say I'm nervous about seeing Kevin again without you trying to brush off my concerns?"
Wow, go for honest why don't you, Kate.
"Sure. But I think you're wrong to be worried, Kate, he…"
Kate cleared her throat. "Eh. What did I just say?" she asked, leveling him with a stern look.
"I know what you said, and I understand why you're nervous. But this is Kevin Ryan, is all I mean. They guy hasn't a malicious, grudge-bearing bone in his skinny little body."
"Maybe true, but…"
"Hey, definitely true, Kate. The guys love you. Both of them. So let's just choose somewhere fun, and enjoy our first double date with the Ryans."
Well, that stopped her in her tracks. Double date. They were going on a double date with some ridiculously loved-up, sickeningly cute, newlyweds. Shit. This was going to be something.
"What about Wildwood Barbeque on Park?" asked Castle, breaking her out of her silent freak out.
"Too uh…meaty," said Kate, crinkling her nose. "And it's run by a former cop, so…"
"Kate, that place is huge and busy and…okay then, that's a definite no," he said, watching her face contort the more he tried to talk her round.
"Gramercy Tavern?" he suggested, after a minute's thought.
"Too ritzy and expensive."
Castle raised an eyebrow at her comment. "Really? You're worried about expensive, because Kate we obviously need to have a little chat about…"
"If you say money, Castle, so help me I'm going back to my own apartment right now."
Castle laughed, finding her discomfort at the topic adorable.
"Actually, I was going to say profit, but money'll work just fine."
"I am not having this conversation with you," she said, getting up from the counter to walk away from him. She barely stopped herself from singing 'lalalala' to block out the sound of his words.
"Kate, we're gonna have to address this at some point," he called after her.
"Yeah, well, some point can get in line. Right behind sometime, someday, and maybe never," she replied, stalking off towards his bedroom with her coffee mug still clutched to her chest.
Castle sighed as he watched her go. God she was infuriatingly independent, and proud, and she needed to hear the truth about this before it became any more of an issue between them. So he dropped the dishtowel that he had slung over his shoulder down by the sink and went after her.
He found her sitting on the bed, her bare legs crossed, studying her fingernails in between sipping coffee that had to be almost cold by now. He leant against the doorframe just watching her. He knew that she could sense his presence; they were so well attuned to one another by now.
"So, I can tell that you don't want me to talk about this," he joked, pointing out the blindingly obvious. "But, Kate, I think it's time we did."
"Castle, it's been three days. It's a little early for the 'what's yours is mine' conversation," she snapped, before looking down at her hands in shame for treating him so badly.
But conversations like this – and this was her first experience of one – they made her squirm. Even the very thought of them. She was so much like her mom in that respect: independent, worked hard for what she had, never intended to be a kept woman, and yet, here she was unemployed, by her own hand, for the first time in her adult life. It was all too much, and now Castle wanted to…
She looked up, realizing he'd suddenly gone very quiet. But he was studying her with such tenderness that she was forced to look away again.
"Kate, please just hear me out, okay? Nikki Heat turned my career from something great into something stellar. If I told you how much money I'd made off the back of Nikki and Rook you'd…" he watched her grimace and cover her ears, "…well, anyway, it's a lot," he compromised, coming over to tug her hands off the side of her head. "And I couldn't have done any of it without you. None of it, you understand? Without your technical input, your inspiration, your…just…you! So, Kate, I know you might not want to hear it, but I owe you big time, honey."
"Castle, you don't owe me anything," she grumbled, disgusted by her own inability to even accept the honest compliments he was paying her. It just made her so damned uncomfortable.
"I do, Kate, and I intend for you to enjoy the rewards of our hard work together whether you like it or not," he added, passionately enough for her to raise her head back up to look at him. "So, a nice restaurant for a night out with our friends, and our first official date, can I point out, is not going to break the bank, believe me," he said, dropping down onto the bed to sit next to her hip.
She let her eyes fall back to her coffee mug. The liquid had gone cold, and it tasted bitter and sour, leaving the aftertaste of a hundred cigarettes in her mouth.
"You must be done with this," he said gently, taking the cup from her hands and setting it on the nightstand.
She let her hand fall to his leg, and began rubbing tiny little circles over the fine hair that covered his (undeniably) muscular thigh.
Castle took her touch as a sign of acquiescence. "So, will you let me make the booking? Or do you have somewhere else you'd rather go?" he asked quietly, brushing her hair back over her shoulder.
"You are a bully, Richard Castle," she huffed, flicking her eyes up to find his amused blue ones looking back at her.
"Only when it counts," he said, leaning in to kiss her softly on the mouth. "And you always count, Kate," he told her on a whispered breath to her neck.
"Make it ABC Kitchen, and you've got a deal," she grinned, burying her face in his shoulder, ashamed of how easily she'd caved in to his gentle badgering.
"Oh, suddenly the lady has expensive tastes. And that is a great idea. Buzzy, not too stiff, modern quirky menu, and Jean-Georges…what's not to like? You, my dear," he said, planting a loud, sloppy kiss on her lips, "are a genius."
He abruptly got up off the bed, headed towards his office, and, presumably, went to make the reservation. Kate sat on, just shaking her head, a helpless smile on her face.
A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing. Can I say that some of those nudges to update are turning into sharp little pokes. I'm trying to juggle having some kind of a life, while writing as much as I can, to the exclusion of housework, sometimes friends, and my dear, long-suffering S.O. I'm doing the best I can, like all the other writers here.
Can I also confess that I saw Lady Antebellum last night, and wow! Just amazing. Kacey Musgraves was excellent too as their support. So, I hope you'll forgive me that little night off, but the inspiration was helpful. All work and no play 'n all that… Happy Saturday. Liv ;)
