To the Market
He's wired.
Boxing day is typically a lazy day in their house, time for everyone to play with their toys and set up their gifts, but as the day winds down and dusk rolls around, Rick finds himself twitchy and restless. There's no reason for it that he can discern, he loves the time spent lounging with Beckett on the couch watching movies, but as they clean up their dinner dishes, he looks for a different direction for the rest of their evening.
"I have an idea," he says, wiping his hands on a dish towel. His wife looks up, her hair falling out of her loose ponytail. "I'll get our shoes; you grab the coats."
Kate's brow furrows. "Our coats?"
He nods. "Yeah," he says. "Come on, let's go for a walk."
"If we're going out, I have to change. I have to fix my hair at least."
He catches her by the waist, lifting a hand to brush her hair away from her face. "No, you don't. You look beautiful. Perfect."
Rick pecks her lips as her eyes lift to the ceiling in disbelief. "Besides, I figured we could just take a stroll to the Christmas market; there's no reason to dress up for that."
Her brow furrows a bit, but she follows his lead in leaving the kitchen and moving to gather their things. "There's still a Christmas market?"
"Uh huh," he says over his shoulder, ducking into their bedroom for shoes other than their slippers. "They go all the way until New Year's Day, at least. Sometimes a little longer, depending on the crowds and the vendors."
"Huh," Beckett says from the living room. "I didn't realize that. Do they pick up new vendors throughout the month?"
"They might." He grabs socks from their drawers too, hoping the ones he picks for Kate will work with the slip-on shoes he has dangling from his fingers. "Or trade off days or something."
"Guess we'll just have to see," she says, appearing in the doorway. "I want to change my bra," she offers in explanation, accepting the shoes and socks from his hands.
"You don't need to. Nobody's going to see…" he trails off as she strips her sweatshirt over her head, revealing the bare expanse of her torso. "You've been braless all day? And I didn't know?"
Kate laughs, tapping his jaw shut on her way to the dresser. "You never asked."
"I take it back," he announces quickly, stepping behind her and lowering his lips to the curve of her shoulder. "Let's stay in. I think we have more than enough we can do tonight."
Beckett snorts, lifting a hand to cradle the back of his neck as his arms wind around her. "Too late, now I actually want to go." She turns her head, presses a kiss to his mouth. "Put your shoes on."
She leaves him gawking as she pulls away and slips the sports bra over her head before grabbing for her sweatshirt once again.
They both exhale when they step out of the loft, and a glance at his wife (who looks adorable underneath her knit cap, bundled up in one of her more casual coats) says she'd needed the break from the indoors just as badly as he had.
She shrugs under his gaze, offering a sheepish smile. "I never said it wouldn't be nice to get out."
"Yeah," he agrees, curling his hand around hers. "Come on, let's walk."
She allows him to slip their joined hands into his pocket as they set off toward the Christmas market that's been set up in the park, bumping her shoulder against his every few steps.
Her fingers flex in his when the warm white lights of the market come into view and he hears her awed murmur.
"It's beautiful," she murmurs.
Rick nods, taking it all in. They'd come during the day a couple of weekends ago, making their rounds and picking up some smaller, handmade gifts for their closest friends and family, but they'd left long before dark. Long before the market became magical.
Kate squeezes his hand, and her lips brush his cheek. "Come on, let's walk around."
They buy more than he expects to. A dusky purple blanket crocheted from chenille yarn that he can tell Kate falls in love with the moment she lays eyes on it. A throw pillow with a cheeky little saying on it for Alexis's new place. A shawl his mother will adore. He even finds a necklace that he intends to squirrel away to give Kate for Valentine's Day and doubles back to get it while his wife waits for a fresh batch of hot cocoa to be ready.
She eyes him curiously when he joins her but doesn't ask. If anything, she looks at little smug herself, making him wonder what she might have up her sleeve too.
"Thanks," he says, taking the steaming to go cup from her and inhaling. "Peppermint?"
Kate nods. "Real peppermint candy cane pieces in the mixture. They're sprinkled on the whipped cream, too. I bought some of the mix to take home, too."
They veer down another aisle, seeking the bank of benches they had seen from afar. Once they're seated and their bags have been secured, he drapes an arm around her shoulders and gives her a squeeze. She taps her temple against his arm, grinning behind her cocoa.
"Smooth, Rick."
He smirks. "I try."
She sips her cocoa again, dropping a hand to rest on his thigh. "Thanks for suggesting this. It's one of your better ideas."
Rick chuckles. "All my ideas are good ideas, Beckett. But you're welcome. I'm glad we were able to get out a little bit."
She nods, tossing a thoughtful look his way. "I was surprised you mentioned it tonight. I thought Boxing Day was your traditional Do-Nothing Day."
He lifts a shoulder. "I've learned over the last few years that, sometimes, it's okay to change up your traditions.
Kate smiles. "I think so, too."
"Though, now that I know about that sweatshirt-no-bra trick of yours…" he chuckles along with her. "No, I still think we should add this to our holiday repertoire. I kind of like the idea of making this our new Boxing Day Night tradition, don't you?"
She presses her lips to his chin, rubbing his thigh. "Yeah, I do."
"Then that's what we'll do," he says, tapping his cup against hers.
"Good," she agrees, sipping again. "Now, drink up so we can get to more of the vendors. Otherwise, we're going to have to come back tomorrow night to get to everyone."
He grins. "We can do that, too."
They manage to visit all the vendors in one night, but she grabs his hand and tugs him out of the loft and back to the Christmas market the next night anyway.
He has no complaints.
This is just a little thing that came to mind. Thank you for reading!