Young at Heart
Kate gives in and lets the pretzels and popcorn they buy at a little cart count as dinner. Only because the two next to her won't stop whining and shooting her pitiful glances that she's sure they've practiced in the mirror.
She breaks off a piece of her pretzel and eats it, tasting the salt crystals on her tongue. Castle is next to her, having Al toss popcorn into his mouth. She's missing, the kernels hitting Kate on the shoulder. Seagulls are eyeing them, some landing a few feet away and hopping toward the curb they've claimed for the parade and fireworks. They're on the edge of the little roundabout just behind the train station, facing Cinderella's Castle and watching the façade of the castle switch colors every few seconds.
"Mom! Catch!"
Kate turns in time to get a piece of popcorn bounced off her cheek. It skitters across the red concrete and a pair of seagulls immediately fight over the little piece.
"She's not very good at this game, is she, kid?" Castle stage-whispers to Al, turning to wink at Kate, catching her frown.
Al shakes her head, climbing up onto Castle's lap to look over his shoulder. "Supposed to catch it in your mouth, silly!" She takes another handful of popcorn and eats a piece.
Kate grins, leaning around Castle's arm to snag a few kernels. "Like this?" She tosses one of the pieces up into the air and positions her head under the arch of the popcorn so that it falls right into her mouth. When she opens her eyes, both her husband and daughter are studying her with slack-jawed expressions.
"Mom," Castle sighs in amazement, blinking and shaking his head slowly.
"What?" Kate asks, sitting so that her shoulder leans against Castle's back. "You think you're the only one with some hidden talents?" She bites into the pretzel again, stretching her feet out in front of her. The back of her legs are tight from walking and she flexes her toes up, stretching the muscles lightly. "Time, Rick?"
She has to elbow him since he's still staring at her before he hastily checks his watch. "Quarter to nine."
"Fifteen minutes then."
"Fifteen minutes to what?" shouts Al.
Kate reaches around Castle's shoulders and tickles Al's neck. "You'll see, kid."
"But I wanna know!"
Castle grabs Al's waist, stopping her from climbing over his shoulder to get Kate. "Patience, grasshopper."
"Not a grasshopper," mumbles Al, flopping her arms over Castle's shoulders and sighing dramatically.
"Then what are you?" asks Kate, ripping off a piece of pretzel and holding it out to her daughter. "A butterfly? Kitten?"
Al takes the pretzel piece and gnaws on it, sitting on Castle's lap and looking thoughtfully at one of the cast members holding a bunch of balloons. "Uh. A girl. Duh, Mom." She turns her head up to Castle, shaking it slightly. "She's so weird."
"The weirdest." He leans over and gives Kate a sloppy, wet kiss against her lips. "I love you."
"Even if I'm the weirdest ever?"
Castle finds her hand, resting his fingers in the grooves hers leave. "Especially if."
A man's voice interrupts, letting the people already gathered along the parade route that there is only a short while left before the streets will be filled with light. A few of the glow carts are making the rounds of the crowds, selling lightsabers and glow-in-the-dark necklaces and oversized glasses. Fiber optic wands glisten in the dim shade.
"Like Star Wars, Rick!" Al says, pointing out the lightsabers. "Like Ben and Luke and…" She starts humming the Imperial March, stomping her flipflops on the concrete in time to the tune.
Castle raises a hand as if signaling for a taxi, hailing one of the cast members over to them to pay for one of the toys. "Go for it, kid. Pick one."
Al pushes up off his lap, running around the cart for one of the lightsabers. She waves it, hitting Kate's shoulder with the tip of the toy. "Gotcha, Mom!"
She rolls her eyes, plucking the lightsaber off her shoulder and holding it still so that the girl can't swing it around. "Be careful of the people around you, Al. Don't hit strangers."
"I know." Still, Al grins and hits Castle on the arm. "You're dead now, Rick," she says matter-of-factly, hands on her hips as she stares down the man. When he only glances at Kate, Al touches the lightsaber to his side again. "Die. You're supposed to die."
"O, I am slain," he says, clapping a hand over the spot where she hit him. He slumps against Kate's side, winking at her as he groans one last time and goes still.
Kate blinks at Al who looks shocked. "Well now you've done it. Killed him and got him quoting Shakespeare," Kate murmurs, brushing a hand over Castle's hair. "Who's next on your killing spree, kid?"
"No!" Al drops the lightsaber and pushes Castle. "Wake up! Don't die, Rick!" When he doesn't open his eyes, the girl fixes Kate with a firm stare. "You need to kiss him."
"Oh no, Al. He's gone. Nothing can save him now." His eyelashes flutter as she runs a thumb over his brow and Kate can feel him trying to hold back laughter. Must have some of Martha's acting ability the way his face stays slack and seemingly lifeless.
"Kiss him, Mom! True love's kiss will save anyone!"
Kate tips her head, looking at Castle's face. "Would it make you feel better if I just kissed him and proved he's dead?" Al nods emphatically, scooping the lightsaber from the ground and hugging it against her chest. "Fine then." Angling her head, Kate brushes her lips over Castle's, feels him smile under her. But he doesn't move. "See? Dead."
"No!" Al shouts, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "Wake up!"
His hands dart out, grabbing Al around the waist and tugging her up against him. "Ah!" he groans, blowing a raspberry one her neck. "You've awoken me from my long sleep, Princess Alexandra!"
The music for the parade begins in the speaker hidden behind them and Kate slaps a hand over Castle's mouth. "Shush. Parade's about to start."
For the next half hour, butterflies and Alice and bulbous fish and Peter Pan ride past them on illuminated floats. Princesses dance with their men in dresses that sparkle in the darkness. One of the dwarves skips over to them and waves at Al. She waves back and the dwarf runs off to the other side of the street.
Then the characters disappear and the crowd starts to shuffle, those families leaving that aren't staying for the fireworks show afterwards. Castle sits again on the edge of the curb, letting Kate nestle against his side as a light breeze chills her skin.
"We leaving?" asks Al, sleepiness leaking into her voice even as she forces her eyes open.
"Not quite. Gotta see the fireworks," Kate says, leaning over to push Al's hair back behind her ears as she kicks her legs out. "Remember?"
"Fireworks!" It perks her back up enough to spend the thirty minutes between the parade and Wishes attacking Kate's toes through the openings of her flipflops. But Kate can tell the girl is ready to crash from the way her head lolls on Castle's chest and her fingers loosen around the handle of the lightsaber.
This time, it's Jiminy Cricket's voice that counts them down to ten o'clock when Wishes starts. When they have five minutes left, the trio gets back up to see over the heads of the people in front of them.
The Blue Fairy begins the story, telling the tale of how when stars are born, they have the power to make wishes come true. And as that first firework shimmers over Cinderella's Castle and Kate sees Al's face light up from her perch on Castle's shoulders, she feels Castle's fingers tightening around hers, pulling her against his side. She goes willingly, resting her head on his shoulder, her free hand holding onto Al's ankle.
The castle changes color with the songs, a medley of tunes from movies with the heroes and heroines wishing for freedom or love or hope. Then, when the front of the castle turns into the Sorcerer's hat, sliver moon and stars painted over the stone, Al hums along to the song, cutting off when Maleficent interrupts with crackling fireworks that sizzle in the air, turning the sky a sickly green.
"Mom, catch the bad woman," she whispers, leaning down to Kate's ear.
"Oh, I think the Blue Fairy's got our backs," Kate returns, nodding toward the castle, now bright blue and sparkling. The fireworks are back to iridescent gold glitter, waterfalling down the midnight black of the sky.
The finale, full of explosions of light and color, makes Al jump, her mouth falling open as she stares.
"So pretty," Al sighs, resting her arms on Castle's head. "Fireworks are pretty."
Castle transfers her to the ground, making sure she has a firm grip of the lightsaber in one hand before nudging her toward the exit with the rest of the crowd. "Come on, Padawan. Back to the room with us." As they move toward the train station, cast members on the balcony, waving down at them with Mickey Mouse gloves on, he ducks his head toward Kate. "Did you make a wish?"
"You bet," she hums back, dancing up on her tip toes to kiss his jaw.
"Do I get to know?"
She hipchecks him, free hand catching the back of Al's shirt as they exit the park and head toward the buses. "Don't you know? Speaking a wish negates the whole thing. This gets to be a secret."
Castle yawns, wiping a hand over his face as he closes the door to Al's room. The girl was out on the bus ride back to the resort, the lightsaber still clutched in her hands even as the rest of her body went limp. Kate took the toy, collapsing it in on itself as Castle carried the girl into the bedroom.
"Kate?" he calls, closing their door until there was only a crack left open in case Al needs something. "Ready for…"
"Battle?" she asks, stepping out of the bathroom, the lightsaber sending the pale glow of yellow and blue and purple onto her face. She circles around him, free hand trailing over his chest, nails scratching the fabric lightly. "Cause I am."
"Oh, that is so not fair," he groans, hands reaching for her bare thighs, exposed after the button-down she snagged from the bureau ends. "Playing dirty."
Kate's at his back, tapping the lightsaber against his shins as she wraps her arm around his waist. Her mouth is at his ear, trailing a hot path down his neck. "Mhm. So? Ready to take me on the field of glory?"
He spins, faster than she can anticipate, and backs her up against the bed. "Thought you didn't like the lightsaber?" he murmurs against her cheek, the slight stubble scraping her skin lightly.
"Who doesn't like lightsabers, Rick?" she returns, swinging the toy up to hit him on the back.
"I don't. Not when you're using it against me."
Kate sits on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and revealing more skin. "Would you like it better if I were wearing a gold bikini?" she taunts, touching the point of the lightsaber against his nose. Her hair, loose and warm over the white of the shirt, slides across her back as she tilts her head. "Or maybe," she starts, closing up the lightsaber and flicking the light off, "if I weren't wearing anything at all…"
"I don't know what is hotter," he manages, leaning his hands on either side of her hips and nudging her down onto her back. "You talking about Star Wars or you in that shirt."
"Mmm," she hums against his lips. "How about both?"
"Both is good," Castle sighs. "Both is definitely good."