Doomsday
previously on Doomsday:
By the look on her face, she believed him. She finally believed in his forever.
The fingers against her lips dropped. And then she completely unmade him.
"Castle, would you?"
What?
"Would you marry me?"
"No."
"No!" She startled back, but he didn't let her go. "What do you mean, No?"
"That's a conditional verb, Kate Beckett."
That was - what? What is he talking about? No?
"I don't do conditional when it comes to you."
"What the hell are you talking about?" she growled, hunching her shoulder as she tried to escape his grip.
"Would I? Would is conditional."
Would was conditional. Something was gonna be conditional if he didn't-
"Now, you want to ask me unconditionally? For forever? Because that's what we're talking about here."
"You're picking apart my grammar?" she gasped, stunned by the wash of relief that flooded her, dizzying. "This is the story you want to tell people? I asked you to marry me and you went all grammar nazi on me?"
He grinned at her, slid his arms down to lock around her waist, pulling her hips flush to his. "Yeah. It makes a hilarious story. So. You going to ask me the right way?"
"I don't think I will," she said, smirking at him only to gasp as he dived in for a brutal kiss, his mouth restless and relentless, claiming her. Reminding her.
Her teeth clashed with his; she tore herself away, panting, bit at his neck, the strong line of his tendon. He growled and sucked at her jaw.
"Okay," she groaned, fists clenched in his shirt. "Okay, you win. Will you."
"That doesn't sound like a question. Doesn't sound very convincing at all-"
"Castle, damn it," she nipped at his skin. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes. Forever yes."
And then his mouth gentled, his tongue soothing her ravaged lips, a slow and seductive movement that made her hips rock forward, her mind go blank.
"Yes?" she murmured, felt it rising up in her, high tide.
"Yes."
"It didn't come in a Cracker Jack box," he muttered, scowling at her as she raised an eyebrow.
"Castle, nothing comes in a Cracker Jack box any more."
"You're making me feel old."
She wriggled her fingers at him, sighing at the thin, gold band he'd shoved over her knuckle. "This is ridiculous."
"Work with me. When we get out of here, I'll take you to Tiffany's-"
"I don't want. . ." She trailed off, pressed her lips together. That might be a little untrue. She kind of did want Tiffany's, didn't she? She wasn't immune to the allure of the little blue box, the Audrey Hepburn feeling of standing in front of the window and wanting it. Something sparkly, unique, beautiful.
"Uh-huh, I know you do," he said, all coy and clever, his eyes on her. She shoved his face away with the hand now burdened by his 'ring' - a toy he'd unraveled from a Lord of the Rings bookmark in his study.
She sighed. "One ring to rule them all?"
"Oh my God, you're so hot."
"And you're a dork," she said, patting his cheek. "Which is funny, because I honestly never thought you were. Until now. You've reached a whole new level."
"Would it help if I said that Alexis got it for me ages ago?"
"Not really."
"Would it help if I said that this is my doomsday bunker, not my primary residence, and it holds all the things I don't normally use or want to keep around?"
"Not helping. You don't want to keep me around?"
"Digging a hole here - let's change the subject. Are you ready to go out there and tell everyone?"
"That you shot down my proposal? Sure, Castle. Let's do that." She hooked her finger in the belt loop of his jeans and tugged him after her, heading out of his study. She honestly wanted to curl up with him somewhere private and not see another person for a couple of days, weeks, but being in his bunker was like being in a fishbowl.
The longer they hid out in here, the worse it would be when they rejoined everyone.
So she did what she had always been good at - she faced down the enemy.
Ack. Ouch. Not what he expected.
Hauled out of the living room by Esposito and Ryan, his heels dragging the floor as he was literally carried out of there, Castle's last image was of her startled, laughing face.
He was going to get a beat down. Or - or something.
They shoved him into the back bedroom where the television was muted and showing footage of the earthquake's devastation: the matchsticks of buildings, the broken bodies carried out on stretchers. Castle was pushed down onto the bed while the two detectives stood over him, glaring, doomsday playing out behind them.
"Uh, guys?"
"What the hell?" Ryan said, and punched him in the shoulder.
"Ow," Castle yelped, shooting daggers at him - the one he normally thought of as the peacemaker. Not anymore.
Esposito flexed and Castle flinched.
"My man, you and she have already had this conversation, rememeber?"
"What - what do you mean? We've been talking all afternoon about-"
"Not about that. About how to propose," Espo said.
Ryan punched him again. "You said big. You said make it big."
"Ow. Seriously. That hurts. You don't know your own strength."
"What the hell, Castle? When Honey Milk proposed to Jenny it was like you guys were hammering it all out, how it should be done, rehearsing it even, and then this? This is lame. Totally lame. You sneaked out to ask her, all secretive and shameful?"
"I didn't! I did no such thing. She asked me."
"And then you gave her a Lord of the Rings - Wait. WHAT?"
"She asked me. I didn't even get the chance to make it big." He rubbed his sore shoulder and pushed to standing, jostling the boys back from him as he strode to the door.
"She did not ask you," Esposito said. "There's no way. You'd have to beg-"
"While I definitely agree, and am perfectly willing to some begging-" he grumbled at them. "Why's it so hard to believe that Kate asked me?"
"Because you - you - you're you," Ryan got out. "No offense. Love you like a brother."
"Uh-huh."
"She asked you?" Esposito said, his face still twitching like he couldn't believe it.
"She asked me."
"What'd you say?" Ryan gasped.
"No."
Both boys grabbed him instantly, shoved him back against the door before he had a chance to defend himself, head rebounding off the wood.
"Whoa, whoa. Wait. Damn, ow. Seriously. Ow." He struggled against them.
"You said no, you stupid, son of a-"
"No! I mean, yes. No. I said. Wait. Hold on. I - I was being funny?"
"Not funny, Castle," Ryan growled.
"I mean. It made sense at the time." It really didn't now. It made no sense now. "I was proving a point."
"What kind of point you making with that kind of answer?" Esposito snarled.
At that moment, Castle felt the doorknob twist, the door pushed into him, smacking the back of his head. Esposito gave him a look like You deserved that but didn't seem willing to let him go long enough to allow the door to open.
And then Kate's voice called out. "Guys. Let him go."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Espo called back. "He has some explaining to do."
"I'll explain. Back up, let me in."
Castle renewed his struggles, managed to break free of Ryan's weakening grip, darted to one side as the door opened and Kate pushed through. Her hand came to his forearm, protection and reassurance, and he slid up next to her, standing at her side. All four of them were crammed into the tight doorway, staring each other down.
"You going to apologize to Castle for acting like neanderthals?"
"No," Espo barked.
"Yeah, we're not," Ryan puffed up, gaining strength from Espo's rebellion. "He said no to you! What the hell, Castle?"
He shifted closer to Kate, but she was giving him an indulgent little smile. "He did. You're right."
"But I meant it in the nicest way," he whined softly, eyes only for her. She was all lit up, back behind the aggressive humor and the rescuing him and all of that - she was lit up. She was enjoying this.
"You did," she murmured back at him.
"Ew, guys. Come on. No love eyeballs right in front of us," Ryan complained.
"Hey now, you got your chance. Did any of us complain about you and Jenny being so sickeningly sweet?" Castle crossed his arms over his chest and dug in. "If I wanna make love eyeballs at Beckett, I'm gonna - wait, is it okay if I-?" He turned to her, hopeful.
She reached out and squeezed his hip, then lifted up on her toes to talk in his ear, her voice low and sultry. "You can make love anything at me, Castle."
He reached a hand out to curl around her gorgeous, smiling, lit-up face, but his wrist was snagged and his arm bent back by Esposito, who was clearly getting sick of it.
"Bleh. Mom and Dad kissing. Let us at least leave the room."
"Apologize first," Kate insisted, blocking the door.
"You're serious?" Kevin gasped, stepping back.
Castle smirked. "Mom's gonna put you in time out."
He got a smack to the chest for that from Kate, but it was worth it for the look on Esposito's face. So not right, bro.
"Yes, apologize for assuming he did something wrong, and for trying to beat him up. I'm the only one who gets to punish him."
"Ew. I need to wash out my brain." Esposito growled, shaking his head. "And we are not apologizing. We're men. We don't apologize to each other. Right Castle?"
Uh. Yeah. "Right."
She shot him a look. He shrugged.
"Ryan?"
"Uh. What he said."
Castle nudged her hip, crowded both of them to one side so that the boys could pass through the doorway. Espsoito gave him a glowering look the whole way.
"I did say yes. I mean, after I said no, I said yes then," Castle defended himself.
"Doesn't make it better," Espo said.
"You said big," Ryan muttered, shaking his head. "Total hypocrite."
The boys stalked away, and then Kate was pressing into him, all hot flesh and long, sinewy length of her. He shivered dramatically and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you for rescuing me."
"Can't leave the damsel in distress," she laughed.
"Oh-ho, so funny."
"I'm enjoying the role reversal. I asked you to marry me; I come rescue you. It's powerful."
"Huh." He snuggled in around her, wrapp his arms at her back, his nose into her neck, huffing his breath out so she felt it. "You're the one with the gun. You always rescue me. Not much role reversal there."
"You rescue me too, Castle," she murmured, and he felt her fingers in his hair, stroking the back of his neck. "You rescue me plenty."