It was her day off, and Kate's alarm went off before the sun was even up. God she should've gotten more sleep last night. There was no way she was going to be able to have enough energy for Castle this morning. He was probably still sleeping, the jerk.
She got up and went into the bathroom, taking a quick shower to wake herself up. When she was finished with that, she dried herself off with a towel and wrapped another one around her hair before heading back to the bedroom. What should she wear? It's not like she'd have to dress up if they'd be at the loft all day. So she pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt. Then after doing her hair and make-up, paying special attention to the bags under her eyes, she added an NYPD zip-up and some sneakers.
Grabbing a granola bar on her way out the door for something to eat, she headed to Richard Castle's loft for a day of writing.
…
Kate was standing in the elevator on her way up to the loft. She suddenly became nervous all over again and bit her bottom lip. She had been so confident before, with two beers in her system. Now she had to spend two days writing a story with THE Richard Castle. The story had to at least be good, the way she had teased him. How was she going to pull this off?
When the elevator came to a stop, she stepped into the hallway and walked over to his doorway. She could just not do this. She could call him and say she got called in or something. Or that her dad came in for an unexpected visit.
No. She could do this. She was Detective Kate Beckett. She kept criminals off the streets and faced down killers. She could handle being in the loft with Castle for two whole days, and she could write a decent story. At least she hoped she could.
Not wanting to be late for her crack of dawn deadline, she took a big breath and stepped up to the door. She lifted her hand up, but the door opened before she even knocked. Castle was standing there in sweatpants and a t-shirt with a big grin on his face. God, he looked excited. "Good morning, Detective."
"How did you know I was here, Castle? I didn't even knock."
"I was up in the living room already, and I heard the elevator ding," Castle explained matter-of-factly. "Then I looked in the peephole and saw you pacing and waving your arms around. I figured I'd just let you do that."
Oh. A blush creeped onto Kate's cheeks as Castle stepped aside to let her in. She took a couple steps inside and turned back to him. "Yea well … um … good morning. So why don't you tell me what we'll be doing this early?" she asked trying to change the subject. Then she noticed his gaze drop from her face to her hands. "What?"
Castle looked back up at her face again and his expression sobered up slightly. "Nothing," he said. "I just thought that maybe since you decided to turn things around today that maybe …"
When his sentence trailed off she looked stepped a little closer to him and looked into his eyes. "Maybe I'd what?"
"Oh, you know. I just thought that maybe you would bring the coffee today," he admitted. "But don't worry about it," he added when she looked a little lost for words. He looked a little embarrassed for bringing it up, but the fact that he thought about the coffee he brought her every day warmed her heart a little bit.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't really think about it on my way over here," Kate said, knowing that it was a pathetic excuse. It's true she hadn't thought of it. But she should have.
"No really, don't worry about it. Shall we get started?" he asked her, with the excitement returning to his voice a little bit. "I think it's time to show you just how critical writing can be." He gave her a challenging look with humor in his eyes and led her into the living room. Here goes.
Kate took off her zip-up and layed it over the arm of the sofa. She loved the living room in the loft. Her apartment might be comfortable and stylish, but it wasn't homey like here. Her art and decorations didn't compare to the pictures and smells and family atmosphere that this place gave off.
When Castle stopped in front of her she just waited for him to say what was first. What did Richard Castle do when it was time to write? Even though she had a somber expression on her face, she couldn't help but freak out a little bit internally. He is her favorite author. His books were so good. The stuff that he came up with sometimes was just mind blowing and never failed to amaze her.
"So where do we start?" she asked him, ready for anything. "How does THE Richard Castle start his day when it's time to write?"
He sent her a light smile and pointed to the couch. "First things first. Take your shoes off and sit down."
Taking him completely serious, she obediently removed her shoes and sat down on the couch. It was weird, him being the one telling her what to do. But she looked back up at him anyway and waited for him to say what happened next. Instead he sat down next to her and grabbed her arm. He pulled her toward him a little bit so she was leaning into him.
"Okay, now lean this way a little bit and … there we go," he said situating her so she was practically in his lap and laying back into the seat.
"Um … Castle? What are you doing?" Kate asked him.
"Just relax," he answered softly. "Are you comfy?"
She sat straight up and looked at his face. "Castle!"
"Rule number one of being an author, you get to set your own hours. Sleeping in is the best part. You didn't really think I wake up earlier than you do for your work every day, did you?" There was humor in his voice, but when he looked at Kate's serious face he could tell she wasn't amused. "Okay, come on. I can tell you're tired. You should just sleep for a little while."
Apparently the extra time she spent on her makeup this morning hadn't made a difference. He could still see right through her. She had to admit, his couch was a lot more comfortable than it looked. And it looked comfortable in the first place.
"Yea …. Yea okay," she agreed, putting her arm to his shoulder and pushing lightly. "But you get that side," she added sending him over to the other side of the couch. He had a slight pout on his face, but it disappeared when he could see the smile in her eyes.
Kate situated herself to get comfortable and looked over at Castle. When she noticed that he had just been washing her, she smiled and tossed a pillow at him. "Go to sleep, Castle." When he looked away, she finally closed her eyes and it didn't take long before she went to sleep herself.
…
A few hours later Kate heard a door shut and her eyes fluttered open. She looked over to the other side of the couch to find Castle still sleeping. Glancing at her watch, she came to the assumption that Alexis must've just left for school.
She sat up straight and looked at Castle for a minute. She should probably wake him up, but he looked so peaceful sleeping. She decided against it and got up to check her phone. She found a text from Lanie, telling her to 'relax and have fun.' She smiled and locked her phone, setting it on the arm of the couch next to her sweater.
Then she went to the bathroom to check her hair and makeup once again. The prominent bags under her eyes were less prominent and she looked more rested, so she settled with that.
When Kate poked her head back out to the living room, she saw Castle still sleeping on the couch. His mouth was lightly hanging open and he was hugging the pillow she had thrown at him earlier. Suddenly she was hit with a great idea. She tiptoed around the back of the couch and went into the kitchen. She might've felt like she was snooping when she looked through his cupboards, but she did. Mostly she knew where everything was anyway though.
….
Thirty minutes later, Kate was sitting back in her spot on the couch, across from Castle when he woke up. He looked up at her to find her watching him and closed his mouth that had been hanging open.
"Good morning Rick," she said holding a mug of fresh coffee out to him.
Hi : D I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It turned out more fluffy than I had originally planned, but I guess I couldn't help it. They'll actually get started with everything in the next chapter. I'll try and get more out soon, but that'll depend on if I'm still alive after 'Always.' Let me know what you think.