A/N: Once again I feel the need to say thank you to everyone who is supporting this story by following, reviewing, adding it to your favorites or letting me know your thoughts on twitter/tumblr. I appreciate each and every one of you so much! I hope it's making your Hiatus a little more bearable. Hugs to all of you!

PLEASE: Take a minute to check out the beautiful cover art which was drawn for me by the lovely (XFchemist) on twitter! She captured my vision perfectly!

Also to all of my sweet guest reviewers: I wish I could reply to your kind, lovely words but please know how much I appreciate them!

Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I claim any ownership over Castle.

Pulling Your Pigtails

"Touch has a memory."
― John Keats

Early morning, November 4th, 2015

Kate often wakes feeling refreshed after a night spent beside her husband. Since the first night they slept together he's been her solid ground in more ways than one. It never matters how bad of a day she's had, Castle instantly makes it better. But this morning is different. She drifts into consciousness with the sweet memories of Castle's story still wrapped around her. She would never admit to believing in magic but her husband's words are just that—magic.

She rolls onto her side just as Castle's eyes flutter open and he grins at the site of her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Castle. How did you sleep?" he asks as he pulls her into his arms.

"Mm…very well, thanks to your beautiful bedtime story. It was perfect, Castle." She stretches forward so that she can kiss him, letting her lips linger against his until the insistent ringing of her alarm reminds her that she has to get ready for work.

She groans as she turns the alarm off and reluctantly slips out of the bed. She loves her job but she loves being in bed with her husband even more. And it doesn't matter that they've been married for almost a year now, it still excites her that they really got married—that Castle is her husband.

He doesn't follow her into the shower like he usually does and she has mixed feelings about it. He's really taking this whole thing seriously about not having sex until their anniversary. She likes the idea of the buildup and can only imagine how explosive the pleasure will be, but they rarely go a day without having sex and her body is already craving his.

When she emerges from their bedroom dressed and ready for the day, he has breakfast and a cup of coffee waiting on her. She smiles and presses a kiss to his cheek as she slips by him and onto the stool in front of her plate.

"I missed you in the shower," she says as she reaches for her coffee and brings the cup to her lips. She hums when the rich, hot liquid touches her tongue.

Castle chooses to change the subject instead of acknowledging her question and she would be mad at him if not for the adorable smirk she witnesses before he can hide it from her.

"I was thinking we could go out for dinner this evening, maybe to Remy's. Seeing as how that's where we had our first date and all."

She frowns and shakes her head. "Castle, that was not our first date, because it wasn't a date, period." And before he can pout she continues. "Remy's is much more than that to us, and dinner there this evening sounds wonderful. I just hope I can get out of the precinct at a decent time."

Castle comes to stand by her side and wraps an arm around her shoulders. "No matter what the day brings, you have this evening to look forward to."

She smiles and leans into his side. "Any chance I could get a small preview of tonight's chapter?"

And just as she was starting to appreciate the warmth of his body he's gone and back on the other side of the counter. "No previews, sorry, and don't give me that look. Let the anticipation of tonight's chapter be your driving force for the day. I have to run down to Black Pawn and sign a few things and then I'll see you at the precinct."

He comes back to kiss her cheek before walking towards the bathroom as she leaves for work.

Several hours later, Kate is frustrated and she's not sure anything can help her somber mood. When a coffee cup appears in front of her held out by the hand of the man she loves she quickly retracts that thought. Coffee and Castle are two things that always help to lift her spirits.

She smiles as she takes the cup from him and he settles in his chair beside her desk.

"Any leads?" he asks, picking up on her frustration.

"No," she sighs. "We've got nothing, Castle. I've spent the entire morning going over the murder board and nothing adds up, there's something we're missing."

He angles his chair towards the board and studies it for a few minutes. When he turns back towards her she looks hopeful that he's seen something she hasn't. "Any crazy or realistic theories?"

He wishes he had something to offer but he can't come up with anything. "Sorry, I've exhausted all of my creativity into your anniversary gift. I can't even come up with a crazy theory for you."

She chuckles and reaches for her coffee again. "I'd give you a hard time about that but I love my gift too much for that."

"Why Detective, do I detect some softness from you?" he quips.

"What can I say, Castle, you've turned me into a sap when it comes to you." She hides her smirk behind the rim of her coffee cup.

The rest of the day is long and provides no new leads so Kate is more than happy to head out when she realizes it's after five. "Come on, Castle, let's go. There's no point in sitting here and making myself read this file again, it will still be here tomorrow."

He stands and helps her into her coat before slipping his on as well. "You know, there was a time when I would've had to beg you to leave at this time."

She smiles as the laces her hand with his and waves at the boys as they walk towards the elevator. "Things were different back then. I'd much rather spend my evenings with my husband now, especially when he has a story to tell me."

He lets her press the lobby button and as the doors slide closed he pulls her against him. "I'll always have a story to tell you, Kate," he whispers in her ear and she shivers against him.

Two hours later their laughing as they walk through the door of the loft. In fact, they've been laughing and teasing each other since they left the precinct and it made dinner even more fun. Kate loves Castle for so many reasons but one of them will always be that he makes her life fun—every day.

He's about to offer her some wine and ask if she wants to sit on the couch for a little while but she has other plans. She slides her hand into his and pulls him to the bedroom, shedding her clothes almost as soon as the door is shut.

"Someone's in a hurry," Castle chuckles as he follows her lead and sheds his own clothes before reaching for some pajamas to put on.

"I've been waiting all day to hear the next part of your story. I already know it's going to be my favorite part of the day."

Castle pretends to be hurt by her statement and she shoves lightly on his chest as she walks him backwards towards the bed. "Okay, it's my second favorite part of the day. My first is spending it with you. Better?"

He kisses her as she pushes him down on the bed and he pulls her with him. "Much," he breathes into her mouth before kissing her again.

For a brief minute she thinks he might give in and forego the no sex thing, but he kisses her with all that he has and then rolls her gently to her own side. She's still trying to wrap her head around how he's managing to deny her while she's all hot and bothered. When she recovers from the thorough kiss he just gave her she blinks her eyes open to find him watching her intently.

"Staring is still creepy, Castle, married or not." And even though she sounds annoyed, he knows she's only messing with him. She might want him right now but he knows she wants the story just as bad.

"Still not going to apologize for staring at you. It's just that sometimes I have to remind myself that you're really my wife and that we really get to do this for the rest of our lives."

She gives him a smile for that because sexually frustrated or not, Castle is still the sweetest man.

He lets her settle against him again and she positions her head right over her favorite place—his heart. "Okay, chapter two please?" she asks.

And he'd never deny her when she asks him like that although this time, he's more than happy to oblige.

"Chapter two takes us back to year two. I can still recall how mad you were at me, even after a summer apart. You had every right to be though. Investigating your mother's murder behind your back will also be one of my biggest regrets; the other is waiting so long to tell you how I felt about you. Year two was in general a hard year for us, both as partners and separately.

It took us a little while to get back in our groove again. You held onto your anger as long as you could and now that we're where we are now I can say this—it was adorable. You tolerated me that year and I'm grateful for that. I was already falling hard for you, but you were harder to win over than I ever expected. Flattery never worked on you and that's another thing that I love about you. The challenge of you changed me in all the ways that I needed to be changed.

When we fought about my book offer and you thought I was going to stop writing Nikki Heat, I saw a glimpse of feelings that you were doing so well to hide. It was the first time you fought with me in a way that screamed jealousy. It was the first time that you gave me a a small bit of hope for a future with you.

I'll admit that I was disappointed when I thought you weren't going to show up at my Halloween party that year. I know that we saw each other every day at the precinct, but I wanted more. You showed up at the end and your costume—if that's what you call it, was pretty epic. It was then that I began to fall in love with your sense of humor.

Alexis took to you from the beginning. She hated the fact that I was pretending to be a cop, but she had so much respect for you. She confided in you that year and although I wasn't used to her talking to anyone but me, I was glad that she trusted you enough to come to you when she needed advice. I'm glad that she has you in her life.

Working the case that involved Kyra caused you to show your hand a little more. You'd never seen me show interest in a 'real' woman before. I believe that's how you put it. Kyra was the realest woman that I ever loved until I met you. Kyra saw what we were still denying and I think she helped push us a little closer to it.

We both know what case is next, but I'm saving it for last, so we'll come back to it.

I'm going to prove now why I consider Remy's to be our first date location. We were both set up on dates that became disasters. It might have been because we were so focused on the case but I like to think it was just another sign from the universe. Just another clue of what we would become. We were starving after we closed the case, I offered you my arm and proposed the idea of Remy's. You could have said no, I expected you to say no—you didn't. And that's why I will always consider that our first date—that the fact that you twirled your hair around your finger as we walked towards the elevator. I know your tells Beckett—better than anyone.

Your apartment being blown up was a wake-up call for me. I knew that I loved you, but standing on the street when the building went up in flames was almost more than I could handle. I thought I'd lost you before I ever had the chance to have you. Finding you alive was something I didn't expect but will forever be thankful for. Opening my home to you was as much for you as it was for me. That case rocked the solid ground you thought you stood on. It tested you in every way possible and yet you beat it—we beat it. And I fell in love with you a little more.

I made a mistake that year—okay I made a lot of mistakes that year, but this one is my biggest regret. Sleeping with Ellie Monroe was one of my lowest points. I wanted you but I couldn't have you yet and so I tried to get you out of my system—it didn't work, it never worked.

You met Demming soon after that and I kicked myself for not trying harder with you. You deserved someone to treat you right and maybe he did, but I wanted that person to be me. You picked him at the time. I was jealous and immature and every time I saw you together I just wanted to drag you away from him. I'm glad that you made that decision on your own.

To this day I still wish that I had known you were going to break up with him and accept my invitation to the Hamptons. It might have been too soon for us to try anything, we may have crashed and burned, but we also could have been just as extraordinary as we are now. I wouldn't change what we have now for anything, but sometimes the 'what ifs' paint an interesting picture.

And now for the main focus of this chapter. The Coonan case was one of our biggest tests as partners. The man who killed your mom was right in front of us for all that time and when we finally figured it out you had to shoot him to save my life. I wouldn't have chosen me—and yet you did. Watching you in hysterics, trying your hardest to save the life of a killer was one of the most difficult things I had ever watched. I didn't know how to help you other than walking away from you. I loved you but I was only in your way at the time.

I came back to the precinct that night prepared to tell you goodbye, but you had other plans. You reached out and touched my arm, let the palm of your hand drift across my skin until our hands met and our fingers linked together. You didn't say anything at first but your touch spoke a thousand words. The heat of our touch was electric and I know you felt it just as much as I did. You held me there—anchored me to you and I knew that there was no way I could ever walk away from you.

Your fingers weaved strength through our touch, your palm whispered words of love against mine, but your eyes said it all. They opened the door to your soul and let me see inside for the first time and you know what I saw? Love. I saw that you were scared and not ready to admit anything but I saw the love just as much as I felt it through the heat of you hand.

That night you admitted something to me that I'd only hoped to ever hear from you. You told me that I made your job fun and that you'd gotten used to me pulling your pigtails. In other words I was the mean boy in the class who picked on the girl that I was secretly in love with. Technically I wasn't mean and I think you did more picking than I did, but I was definitely in love with you then and I think it was becoming less of a secret.

You pulled your hand away then and although the loss of your touch sent chills through my body, your unspoken words still swirled through my head. I held on to that until you were ready to give me more. I intend to pull your pigtails for the rest of our lives—amongst other things."

Castle runs his fingers through Kate's hair as he finishes his story and she lets out a sound that resembles a purr. He loves her hair—always has.

"There was never any other choice for me than to save your life when Coonan was about to shoot you, Castle. I may not have voiced it for a few more years and we may have had lots of bumps along the way, but my heart had already chosen you." Her serious expression remains until she knows he believes what she's said and then she smirks at him.

Clearly not ready to give up on her attempt to seduce her husband, Kate pushes herself up on his chest so that she can look at him. "Since you like pulling my pigtails so much, how about I give you a visual that I know you'll appreciate? I'll go put my hair in pigtails, maybe slip on that schoolgirl outfit you bought me last year and you can pull them any way you like?"

Castle groans and closes his eyes and she knows that she's tempting him, causing his control to waver. He pulls her closer until her mouth is hovering just above his, but instead of kissing her like she desperately wants he moves his mouth to her ear. "Nice try, Kate, but I'm serious about waiting. There are five more chapters to this story and I really want you to hear them before we make love again."

She starts to protest but he lifts a hand to her cheek, runs his thumb over her lips to silence her. "Kate, it's not because I don't want you right now, I always want you, but this gift is important to me and the waiting will make our anniversary so much sweeter. I'll make up for each night that we don't have sex on our anniversary, I promise you that. Trust me on this, okay?"

Kate nods and leans down to gently kiss him on the lips. "I do trust you and I know you want this to be special. I just thought that eventually this want would start to ease up a little but if anything it's only grown more intense. I always want you, Babe, always."

Castle wraps his arms around her body, shifting her until she's fully on top of him. "I always want you too, Kate."

They lay like that for quite some time and just as Kate starts to drift off to sleep she tries to shift away from him. Castle tightens his arms around her, his voice husky when he speaks. "Stay, stay like this please?"

She does.

Chapter two, complete.

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