…I can explain. Just not right this second. ENJOY!
High School—Freshman Year—Kate's Birthday
Kate sighed. This had been the worst birthday she'd had in years. Sure, her friends had baked her cupcakes and cookies (of which, Kevin's had been the most beautifully decorated, though Lanie's were the most delicious. Javi's had been burnt to a crisp, but at least he tried) and her parents had brought her out for an early dinner at Le Cirque—which was an incredible expense, but her father's client was the Head Chef and he pulled some strings with the owner, so it ended up costing a lot less than it should have. The food was delicious, but the entrees were tiny and they'd brought her to Remy's for fries and a strawberry milkshake afterwards, which was really great.
But Castle hadn't been there. He'd promised weeks ago that he'd be home early for her birthday, but his professor had apparently scheduled a test that he couldn't afford to fail and he needed to study as much as possible before Monday morning, when he would have to take it. He had apologized profusely and promised an amazing long weekend when he came back for Thanksgiving, even going so far as to offer to stay until they lit the tree in Rockefeller Center, even if it meant he would miss a couple days of school. Kate had told him no for that, knowing how much trouble he was in with his teachers already, just for being the class clown.
She knew, however, that he would probably end up staying no matter how much she protested.
It was only seven when she returned home and she was still receiving 'happy birthday' messages on Facebook and she worked on replying to each and every one as she waited for her boyfriend to call with his own birthday wishes, like she knew he would.
It was nearly nine when he did and, by that time, she was bored out of her mind. She practically broke her phone with the force of her button pushing.
"Hello?" she answered and heard his chuckle, which had gotten deeper in the last couple of months, on the other line.
"Hey, Birthday Girl," he replied and she could hear the grin in his voice.
"Hey," she replied, feeling inexplicably more relaxed. "How was your day?"
"Uneventful," Castle replied, sighing, "I'm afraid. It's kind of boring out here."
"Your roommate still giving you problems?" Kate asked.
Castle snorted. "No, I haven't seen that tight ass in hours, thankfully," he said.
"Been studying hard?" Kate asked, sighing.
"Yeah," Castle replied. "But I haven't really been able to focus much."
"Oh?" Kate replied, lying back on her bed. "Why do you think that is?"
"I'm not sure. I seem to have something—or, rather, someone—else on my mind."
"Oh? Is this someone a girl?" Kate replied, trying to sound jealous, but she couldn't fight her grin.
"Perhaps," Castle said. "But, don't worry, I think you'd like this girl."
"Really? What's she like?"
"She's really pretty," Castle said, sounding mesmerized, "and smart and nice and so, so…extraordinary. That's the best word for it, I think; extraordinary. It just…fits, you know?"
Kate smiled softly, rolling over to lie on her stomach. "She sounds pretty amazing," she replied.
"She is," Castle sighed. "Like I said, you'd really like her. I can introduce you to her, if you like. She's lying down on the bed right now."
Kate's eyes widened. "What?" she asked, angrily.
Castle just kept going. "Yeah. She's wearing these adorable cherry pajamas, and a pair of pink and grey argyle socks and her hair—her beautiful hair—is in a braid down her back. She's laying on her stomach right now, actually, and talking on the phone…"
Kate's eyes widened, looking down at the cuff of her pajama top, as if noticing, for the first time, that it was covered in cherries. She sat up, looking around.
"How did you-?" But then she spotted him, standing on her balcony, his phone pressed to his ear and a sly smirk on his lips. Her eyes widened and a wide grin split her lips as she hung up the phone and rushed out to him, nearly knocking him over with the force of her hug.
"Oof!" Castle grunted, when their bodies collided. "Watch it," he laughed, "or you'll knock us both off the balcony."
Kate ignored him, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck and inhaling deeply, taking in the scent of him that she'd missed so much.
"I missed you," she breathed against his neck. Castle grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I missed you too," he whispered in her ear, holding her tighter. "I'm sorry I almost missed your birthday, too."
"It's okay," Kate mumbled against his chest. She looked up, her eyes shining with love. "You're here now and that's all that matters." He beamed down at her and leaned down, pecking her lips.
"I love you," he said, nuzzling her nose.
She smiled. "I love you, too," she replied, pressing her forehead to his.
They stayed there, wrapped in each other's embrace for a few moments, before Kate suddenly pulled away, a thought occurring to her.
"Castle?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Yeah?"
"How did you get up here?"
"Oh," Castle replied, blushing. "Your parents let me in hours ago; I was just waiting for you to get home."
"I've been home for two hours…" Kate said, raising her brow.
"Uh, yeah, about that…I may have, kind of…fallen asleep. Waiting for you." He gave her a sheepish grin and Kate laughed, reaching up to nuzzle his nose again.
"You goofball," she murmured against his lips.
"That's why you love me," he replied. Kate rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny it. "Now," Castle said, pulling away, "if you don't mind…your father threatened to throw me off the balcony if I wasn't out of your room by nine and it's now…8:59."
Kate grinned, holding him tighter. "We have a few more seconds," she replied, laying her head on his chest and inhaling again. "God, I really missed your smell."
"Uh…Kate? That's kind of creepy." Kate glared at him and grabbed for his ear, but he backed away. "Kidding! Kidding!" he squeaked and she laughed, shaking her head, before taking his hand.
"Come on," she said, pulling him out of her room.
"Where are we going?" Castle asked.
"To the living room," Kate replied, "where else? Besides, you probably haven't eaten in hours."
"Actually," Castle replied, "your mom left me some dinner in the oven before you left and told me to make myself comfortable so I grabbed a few snacks."
Kate halted, immediately, turning around and Castle practically walked into her.
"You didn't take my Thin Mints, did you?" she demanded, hands on her hips. Castle grimaced.
"Maybe just a couple…" he said, fearing her wrath. Kate's glare deepened and he practically shrunk on the spot. "Don't worry," he said, "you still have more than half a box left! They were just…so good."
Kate rolled her eyes before grasping his hand again and pulling him back towards the living room. "Eat any more," she said, "and I'll throw you off the balcony, myself."
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