Hello and Welcome to the 12 Prompts of Christmas.

For those who didn't see my announcements on Twitter/Tumblr - this year I challenged myself (and others!) to write 12 fics based on a list of 1-2 word holiday themed prompts. I'll be posting all of them here, but if you go to my Tumblr account (skygirl5 dot tumblr dot com) you can see the images associated with each chapter/prompt.

Enjoy!

One - Ugly Sweater

Setting: Castle, Season 5

Standing in front of the vanity in the en-suite bathroom, Kate Beckett tilted her head from right to left, making sure she'd blended her makeup smoothly. Satisfied with the foundation, she swiped a subtle blush across the slash of her cheekbone and then examined her reflection once more. Perhaps just one more coat of mascara, she decided. She rummaged for a moment in her makeup bag, procured the correct tube, and touched up the edges of her lashes just to make sure they popped.

Satisfied, she zipped the makeup bag once more, pushed it to the side of the counter, and then stepped back to examine more of her reflection. The crushed velvet dress in a deep wine color with long sleeves and a scoop neck was one of her favorite standard holiday dresses. She thought about possibly buying a new one for the party that evening, but then decided against it. She had already bought a new one for Black Pawn's holiday party the following evening and she didn't want to buy a second new one—nor did she want to wear the same dress two nights in a row since some of the guest list overlapped. No, this dress was fine, especially since with the shorter skirt it allowed her to wear her favorite pair of shiny knee-high boots.

Thinking of the boots, she moved towards the door so she could grab them, but abruptly turned back upon realizing she'd forgotten to put in her earrings. Rather, the earrings Martha lent her from the evening. Admittedly, the tacky green pom-pom trees with gold glittering stars atop were not at all her style, but they fit the relaxed theme of the party well enough.

If a year earlier someone had told Kate that she would be attending a party hosted by James Patterson in his very fancy penthouse apartment, she probably would have laughed in that person's face. At that point, she'd been still trying to heal physically while trying not to drown in her own traumas all in order to get to a place where she felt ready to be in a serious relationship. Even six months earlier, after she and Castle had officially become a couple, the notion still would have seemed crazy. While she was certainly aware of the fact that he was a famous author, she didn't think of it on a day-to-day basis. He was just Rick, her partner, so when he mentioned the party at Patterson's she found herself taken aback even though she knew they still had their occasional poker games.

Though Kate had her fair share of relationships in the past, her relationship with Castle was the first one in which she was fully open and committed emotionally. Where she held back in other relationships, she forced herself to let go and dive in with Castle. At the start, it had been rough, and every week brought new challenges, but half a year later she could comfortably say it had gotten easier and every day it was closer to being second nature. As such, their relationship came with some firsts for her. As present she was in the middle of "first time attending multiple holiday parties with a significant other," which she didn't mind that much especially since she was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve and Day.

"Oh, hey, you look amazing!"

"Tha—oh my god!" Kate gasped when she caught sight of her boyfriend, who was standing just outside his walk-in closet. When he said he was going to finish getting dressed she thought he might put on a sweater over his white button-down but hadn't really expected this sweater. It was, in a word, hideous. "What are you wearing?"

Grinning, he tugged at the monstrosity he wore, twisting his body left and right to show it off from all angles. From top to bottom the sweater had three sections of red, white, and green print in various patterns, which would have been unattractive enough, but there was also a giant reindeer face printed on it. The animal had a giant red velvet ball for a nose and red and green lights strung around its antlers. "Great, right? Oh, and look at this!" Castle reached down to the bottom hem of the sweater and tugged at something. Suddenly, the lights around the antlers began to flash red and green.

Kate groaned. "Where in the world did you get that?"

"Online. Pretty great, right?"

"It's…something. I didn't think this party was an ugly sweater party."

"It's not. Some of the writers and I have a little side wager over who can wear the ugliest sweater."

Eyes wide, she nodded. "Well, I think you're going to win."

Frowning, he looked down at himself, then back up at her. "You think? I don't know…sometimes Patterson's editor comes up with the most amazing stuff."

Chuckling, Kate walked over and gently brushed her lips across his cheek. She didn't think there had ever been a time in the past where she would have had a boyfriend disappointed over not having the ugliest sweater, so she'd have to add that to her list of firsts. But considering the very top of her "firsts" lists was the fact that no previous boyfriend had brought her this much joy, she was all too happy to include some silly firsts on the list; all of them combined was why their relationship was so special.

"Well if you don't win, next year you and I can work together to come up with something truly hideous."

He grinned, hopeful. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay…but we should do that even if I do win," he said with a wink. Then, both of them laughing, he slipped an arm around her shoulders and said, "C'mon, let's go party."