Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop
The morning after was no different than any other morning.
She still woke up on her stomach, face mashed into the pillows, suffocating a little against the fabric and under the cover of her hair. He's still on his back, one hand reaching out across the space between them for her arm, his fingers tickling the crook of her elbow. There was still that one lock of hair that fell out of place as he slept, a dark line across his brow.
The sunlight was sneaking into the room from around the blinds, two lines of light across the bed and floor. Cars honked outside, people swore at taxi drivers. A pigeon flew into the window, making her jump as it hit the glass. Stupid birds.
The only differences, Kate figured, was the fact that they were naked and there was a ring on their left hands. Normally they managed to find shirts to pull on before falling asleep in case Al crashed in the next morning.
She turned her head just enough to check that the door was still closed before rolling over and pushing her hair back. The wedding band was chilly against her forehead as it passed over the skin and Kate stopped, held her hand out in front of her to examine the ring.
"Looking to trade up already?" came the muffled question from his side of the bed.
"Totally. I need a ring that I can knock some suspects out with. This?" she said, moving her hand from side to side, watching the light glint off the facets of the stone. "Useless."
Kate huffed out a laugh as he moved over her, grabbing her wrist and looking at the pink-gold band. "I see your point. Well, it's only fair, then. You have a valid reason." He dropped her wrist back to the pillows, capturing the other so that she couldn't move. "Tired?"
"After last night?" she asked, pushing her head up to brush her lips over his cheek. "Definitely. Go back to sleep."
"Can't now. Too riled up, what with you ditching my ring not a day after I put it on you," Castle growled, ducking down to kiss her, stealing what was left of her breath.
Once he shifted his head off her mouth, Kate sighed. "Seriously, Rick. Too tired."
"Think that says something about that staying power you continuously mock," he murmured hotly into her ear.
Her fingers curled around his wrists, her short nails dragging over the skin. "Get off so I can take my shower before Miss Maid-of-Honor arises and wants breakfast."
Castle let go, flopping back onto the bed beside her. "Does her royal highness have plans for today?" When Kate leveled a glare at him, he shook his head. "I meant Al, not you. I know better than to call you royal."
Kate leaned over to move that lock of hair back in line with the rest. "Well, one might say I have a castle now." Then she was gone before he could catch her again.
"Wow. That's so cheesy, Kate," he called as she ran into the bathroom giving him a last flash of her long legs. "So cheesy."
He wanted to lounge in bed until she came back, smelling like her body wash and shampoo and toothpaste, and tug her back into the blankets for the rest of the day. He wanted to spend hours just laying here with her, talking or not talking.
But he knew that there was a little girl sleeping upstairs that would be barging in at some point as soon as she rested up after last night. The same little girl that had stood next to her mother during the entire ceremony yesterday afternoon up on the rooftop near Rockefeller Center, holding Kate's little bouquet and trying not to squeal with excitement. The girl that he had carried from the town car up to her bedroom after she had fallen asleep on the ride back to the loft, he and Kate taking turns kissing her goodnight before closing the door to her room.
And then they had done things that exhausted both of them until he couldn't lift up his arm enough to even trail it over her stomach.
Married. God, he was married.
Castle ran his hand over his face, felt the scratch of stubble from the night. He hadn't thought he was the marrying kind, happier to move from woman to woman at will. But just thinking about leaving Kate and Al made him shudder.
No. He was with them. Better or worse.
"Rick, you might want to get dressed," Kate called, poking her head out of the bathroom with her toothbrush in the corner of her mouth. "No need to scar Al."
Right. "Thanks," he said, scrambling out from under the covers to search for his boxers, abandoned on the heated path they had blazed from upstairs back down to their bedroom. They were near the door, halfway under the dresser. Next to her panties, which he scooped up along with the other pieces of clothing they had scattered.
He paused at the hamper, dropping the clothing into the wicker basket. Draped over the back of the chair in the corner of the room was her gown, the tulle skirt feathered over the dark leather of the seat. The embroidery caught on his palm as he ran his hand over the bodice, shaking it out before finding a hanger for it. He was sure she had some special bag for it, to keep it in, but for now, folding it over one of his metal hangers would work.
"Reminiscing already?"
Castle jumped, knocking his hand on the closet door as he stepped back. Kate was wrapped up in a towel, her hair dripping long lines down her back and shoulders as she sat on the edge of the bed with a bottle of lotion. "Uh, no. Just cleaning up."
He flopped onto the bed, watching as she threw a hand out to catch herself before she tumbled backward. "Do you have plans?"
"I do," she said, smoothing the lotion over her legs.
"Can I come?"
Kate nodded slowly. "I was sort of counting on it. You're a pretty important piece of this plan. So," she said, trailing off as she leaned back on her elbow to run her hand over his cheek, "I think you should get dressed. Soon."
He hopped off the bed, ducking into the bathroom to get his shower in before she left him out of her plan. Kate searched the drawers for underwear and clothes until she found a pair of jeans and a thick white sweater. She wrung her hair out then scraped it up into a ponytail, heading out into the kitchen to heat up the griddle for pancakes.
"Mom?" Al chirped, stocking feet padding down the stairs as she held onto the railing. "Up?"
"Yes, kid. We're up," Kate said, scooping the half-asleep kid up onto one of the bar stools against the counter. "Want pancakes?"
Al nodded, watching as Kate moved around the kitchen, mixing the batter and pouring it out onto the griddle. Her hair was still pinned up with the bobby pins and Kate knew it would be a tangled mess when she went to brush it out after breakfast. Kate had the coffee machine going, the drip of the liquid a comfort as she flipped pancakes and slid them onto a serving plate.
"Orange juice or milk this morning," she asked, opening the fridge to take out both containers, holding them up for Al's inspection.
"Milk, please," she said, yawning. "Mom, what's that?"
Kate's face went red as her daughter pointed out her bra, hanging from the back of the couch. "Uh, nothing, kid. Here." Kate placed the plate of pancakes in front of Al, handing her a fork. "Eat up. Gonna go on a trip today." As soon as Al was distracted with food, Kate ran over and snatched up the bra, jogging into the study and straight into Castle.
"Running back into my arms already?" he asked, smirking as he buttoned his jeans.
She held up the underwear as if that was the only explanation he needed, brows raised accusingly.
"Was wondering where that went," Castle mused, passing by her on the way to the kitchen. "Morning, Al!"
While he was out in the kitchen, Kate searched through the books she had brought with her from the apartment. She hadn't slid them into empty spots on his expansive bookshelves, keeping her collection separate in their box rather than merging them. There was one that she needed today. Running a hand over the worn red cover, Kate slipped it into her purse.
When she came back from the bedroom, face still a pale pink, Castle was eating with Al at the counter, trading stories of days that they skipped school, which was what Al was doing that morning. "So, what's your grand plan for this fine Monday morning?" he asked around a mouthful of pancake.
"You share honeymoon plans, I'll share Monday plans," Kate countered, slicing her own pancake.
"Guess we're in the dark, huh, Al?"
He still hadn't divulged the honeymoon information. Not after Al begged and pleaded all night at the reception. Not after Kate had tried to withhold sex for the location. It was annoying. And sweet.
"Just dress warm," Kate warned. "It's cold out and we'll be outside for a while."
Castle cleaned up breakfast as Kate headed upstairs to help Al get dressed. No hints. Just dress for the cold. As he rinsed dishes and put them in the dishwasher, he ran through ideas of where she could be taking them and kept coming up blank. So when the girls came back downstairs, Al clutching Penguin, and took out their coats from the hall closet and Kate handed him his, he didn't venture any guesses.
She drove them rather than taking a cab. She needed the concentration of fighting through traffic in Manhattan to distract her from the emotions going through her. It would be okay. Al had done this before. And she wasn't worried about Castle. She was worried about herself.
When they passed the entrance to the cemetery, she thought Castle got it. His hand crept over hers, taking it off the steering wheel to hold it against his thigh. "Kate…" he said quietly.
Kate shook her head, ghosting at a smile. "It's okay. I want her to meet you."
Al's mouth was open in the backseat, looking up from her coloring book. "Gonna see Grandma?"
"Gonna see Grandma," Kate confirmed, navigating the roads of the cemetery with practiced ease. She has made this trip more times than she could count, knew exactly where the polished marble stone was located even if she had been spun around as if in a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. "Got to tell her about the wedding, right?" she said, glancing over at Castle.
Kate stopped the car next to the row, watched as Al bounded from the car, holding Penguin by the bird's wing, and up the little hill to the headstone with a sapling growing next to it. Al's tree. She, her dad, and a month-old Al had planted the tree together when Kate had brought her daughter there for introductions.
"You're sure you're up for this?" she asked, glancing over at him.
He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the base of her thumb. "Should be me asking you the question. I'm ready if you are."
"Nope. You should be terrified. My mom's a tough critic," Kate said teasingly, getting out of the car and watching him from over the roof. "You don't pass this test, you're out."
"Oh, now the pressure's on."
They walked up the slope together, his hand laced in hers. Al was chatting to the pale grey stone, cross-legged on the ground next to her tree about Penguin, how they had met and their adventures since. "Here's Mom and Rick, Grandma!"
Castle hung back, letting Kate go over and touch the top of the stone. "Hey, Mom. Finally found the one," she said, nodding her head over to Castle, reaching a hand out for him. "Rick, I'd like you to meet my mother, Johanna. Mom, Richard Castle."
He stepped closer, swallowing. Don't screw it up. "Hi, Mrs. Beckett."
Al giggled. "He's funny, Grandma."
"I know I'm supposed to do the whole permission thing before the wedding but we're a little out of order anyway." Kate sat down next to Al, tugged Castle's hand to get him to sit as well.
"She asked me to marry her," Castle whined a little, leaning forward to pull Kate back against his chest. "How weird is that? And she didn't even have a ring for me."
"We got you one, didn't we?" Kate said, holding up his left hand to study his wedding band. It's silver, glinting in the pale sunlight. As unobtrusive as hers but wider, more masculine. "Looks good, right, Mom?"
"Grandma!" Al shouted, scooting forward and using Castle's knee as a jumping point. "Rick has a big house! With stairs!"
When Castle furrowed his brow, Kate leaned back, tilting her head up to whisper, "We've never had stairs. It's a big deal."
"Ah," he hummed, taking the chance to press a kiss to her lips.
"Rick!" Kate exclaimed, pushing his face away. "Not in front of my mom!"
Al rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the headstone. "See? They're being weird."
"We're in love," Kate stated, giving her daughter a gentle push. "It's allowed. That's why I'm weird with you."
"We're you weird with Grandma?" Al asked, crossing her arms over her chest and facing Kate and Castle.
Kate nodded solemnly. "Very. Embarrassed Grandpa all the time."
Al patted Kate's cheek. "Then it's okay. Be weird."
"Well then," Castle murmured, "if you'll excuse me, Mrs. Beckett." He leaned forward to capture Kate's lips again, a hand coming up from where it was braced on the ground to hold her chin. She sighed against his mouth, her hand cupping his cheek, smooth now from his morning shave.
"Gross!" Al said, interrupting by pushing her way between them. "Gross! Stop!"
Castle chuckled against Kate's lips, brushing his thumb over the lower one before sitting back again. "Fine, fine… Kate, tell her about the wedding," he prompted instead, poking her in the side lightly.
Kate took a deep breath, body still tingling a little. "It was up on this rooftop garden, Mom. I still don't know how Rick got the place reserved with such short notice."
"Magic," he whispered into her ear.
"Oh, it was," Kate sighed, finding his hand with hers against the grass. The other reached out and ruffled Al's hair. "It was magic."