Murder He Rewrote

"Can we go in here?"

Kate follows his gaze to a tiny store squeezed between a chain bookstore and a thrift shop, the facade warped-looking as if it really did have to nudge its way into the gap. There's no name, no exterior clue as to what it might hold, but she trusts him.

"Sure." She tips her chin up on a smile, enjoying the difference in height between them. He loves the heels, but he's never been shy about loving her this way too. Flats or bare feet or a stolen pair of his socks, he likes to tuck her in close to his body. Not overbearing, not trying to lessen her status. Castle just wants to wrap her up in the soft touch of his love.

"I've never been inside." He says, and it sends a great leap of joy through her. Because of course he knows what it means to her to get to share in his firsts.

There aren't many left to her. Not the first woman he's loved or the first to marry him. She won't be the mother of his first child. But this, this he can give her. The small moments.

Kate tugs him over to the door of the little store and pushes it open, turning back to see him bordered by the doorframe. The sky is a hard cobalt at his back, the lick of sunlight around him turning the width of his chest into a great swathe of shadow.

Inside, there are shelves and baskets and boxes overflowing with such an enormous assortment of things that Kate has to take a stumbling step backwards, comes crashing up against Castle behind her.

He sets his mouth against her ear and his hands at her hips, his words sweet with joy. "Wow. A goldmine, hm?"

"Yeah. Wow." Kate breathes, stepping over to a basket that spills over with what look from here to be vintage postcards. Castle detaches himself from her and wanders over to a darker corner of the store. She takes a quiet moment to watch him go and then she's ensnared by the cards in front of her.

They're all second hand. All of them have already been written on, the basket like a museum of spidery handwriting through the past hundred or so years. It's so completely fascinating to see the huge variety of things people saw fit to mention about their vacations, the endearments and the private jokes long buried.

Rifling through the stack of postcards, Kate finds herself getting so caught up in the stories they have to tell that she completely loses track of where Castle is, startles hard at the touch of his hands at her waist.

"These are cool." He grins, sliding one arm around her waist to keep her close as he picks up a card. Kate turns to look at him, her mouth skimming his jaw, and just that soft touch has his hips nudging against hers more insistently.

"Yeah."

"You find any good ones?"

Kate steps free from his grip and sets the stack in her hand back into the basket, lacing her fingers through Castle's. "I think they're all good in their way."

"Of course. Every story matters, right? Come see this."

Castle leads her over to another stand, the bureau dark and majestic with age. He points out a basket of rings and Kate rifles through it, frees a couple and sets them on the counter. And even though it's stupid, even though Castle's breath condenses in the slope of her neck, she can't help but try one on. It fits her middle finger and she stretches her hand out to admire it.

"You like it?"

She nods, twists her wrist to get a look at a different angle. "Yeah. It's quirky, different. Has a history. I like that."

"Can I buy it for you?" He says, so tentative that she can't help but kiss him. Silly man.

"Okay. Thank you."

There's a card underneath the basket that Castle tugs free, his chest stuttering on a barely-contained gasp as he sees what's written on it.

Engagement rings.

And of course he's expecting her to backtrack, say she doesn't want it anymore. But she likes it, and even more than that she likes the slackening of his face when she manages to surprise him.

"Good job it doesn't fit on that finger, hmm?"

He chokes a little, gapes at her, and then he seems to finally get it together. "Yeah. Good job."

Hand in hand, they step through an archway formed by a canopy of leaves, the branches of two adjacent trees leaning in to meet like old friends. The leaves just brush the top of Kate's head; Castle has to stoop slightly to fit underneath. And then they come onto a pathway, lined with a sentry row of more trees on either side.

Underneath their feet is a paving stone, smooth and carefully maintained granite etched with a name and two dates.

"Castle, tell me we're not standing on a grave right now?"

He darts in to kiss her, leading her by the hand down the pathway. "No. It's sort of a timeline, I guess. Each one has the name of a pastor from the church and the years they were pastor."

"What church?" Kate murmurs, and then they round the corner to see the chapel rise up in front of them. Clad in pristine white siding, the lawn rolling down to meet them and sending grass to dust its sharp edges at their ankles. "Oh."

"It's pretty, huh?"

"It's breath-taking. Can we go inside?" Kate blinks up at him, her whole face alight with her grin, and Castle's own mouth curves up like a reflection.

He pushes open the door and ushers her inside, strides all the way down to the pulpit. Turning back, a hum of surprise sits under his tongue as he sees Kate still hovering in the entryway. From the stained glass window above his head a vibrant rainbow splashes onto the hardwood of the aisle, enticing and so warm he wants to strip off his shoes and socks and paddle in it.

When she tears her gaze away from the noticeboard he sees even from the lectern the jolt that tears through her at the sight of him at the other end of an aisle. He expects her to beckon him over or step back outside or something. Definitely, definitely doesn't expect the coy smile she shoots him from under the fall of her hair, the measured steps she takes until she reaches him.

Catching her up in his arms, Castle dips his mouth down to sip at hers, bending her backwards just a little. His arm bands strong around her back and he pulls her up straight again, settles his forehead against hers. "What were you looking at?"

"The advertisements. What's the Hamptons Sand Bar? Everything seems to happen there."

Okay. So they're not going to talk about what just happened. How perfect it felt to have Kate walk down the aisle with her whole face opened on a smile and her eyes fixed only on him. That's fine. "A popular local watering hole."

She lifts an eyebrow and he grins, fixes her with his best leer. "Can I buy you a drink?"

She laughs at him, of course, but underneath he sees the hot thread of lust shifting in her eyes. Mm-hmm, Kate Beckett. He's not the only one consumed with desperate need.

He gets to hook his arm through hers and walk her back down the aisle and try desperately not to think about it. Just. . .don't even think about it. Too dangerous.

The bar is only a short walk away and he gets to meander along the sidewalk with Kate's hand firmly encased in his own. The afternoon sunlight gets caught in her curls so she seems almost dripping with it, every time she moves her head the luminescent drops fly around her face.

She's slower here than she is in the city, quite content to wander along with him, no real destination in mind. And of course, it's Kate. So she wants to go into every store, explore just as thoroughly as he does. In fact, he hasn't really done an awful lot this morning other than watch Kate's reaction to every new detail, the aspects of this place unfurling and offering themselves up to her like pearls.

Suddenly it's vital that she know.

"Hey Kate?" He brings them to a stop, reaching up to brush her hair back and cradle her cheek. "Thanks."

"For what?" She murmurs, gentle fingers settling at his waist. Her whole face opens up on a tender smile and she comes in to kiss him, the brush of her mouth entirely distracting.

"I've never done this before. Just gotten to be lazy and explore and enjoy the quiet. I mean obviously I've looked around before but not. . .like this. So thank you."

Kate pushes another kiss against his mouth and then steps back, curling her fingers against his palm. "I'm really glad to get to do this with you."

They start walking again and Castle doesn't try to battle back his smile, surprised at the rush of contentment in his gut. Nothing more needs to be said. She just gets it, always has. It's one of the things he loves most about her.

At the bar, he gets to hold the door for her and then settle his palm at the dip of her spine to follow her over to the counter. She settles her hips against the bar and turns to him, raising an eyebrow.

Right, yeah, he's supposed to be buying her a drink. Okay.

"Two scotch, please." He says to the bartender, hears the quiet hum of pleasure Kate lets out. Good, so at least he picked the right drink.

She likes wine after dinner, likes to curl up on the couch and share a bottle with him after a tough case. And then he gets the soft and pliant body of tipsy Kate as she crawls into his lap and sinks down, pillages at his mouth. But he knows she enjoys whisky too once in a while.

The bartender sets the two tumblers in front of them and Castle curls his fingers around his own, waits for Kate to do the same before he nudges his glass against hers and grins. "Cheers."

"Cheers." She echoes, moving away from the bar towards a quiet little table next to the window. When he sits down, Kate braces a palm against the table and leans in to kiss him softly, a sharp hint of mischief in the work of her tongue. "Thanks for the drink."

"I've been thinking." He starts, his mouth apparently having completely forgotten about its connection to the rest of him, the parts that can do things like think rationally and analyse the possible outcomes of the stupid things he says. "What we talked about at brunch, about Josh. I think I should definitely shoulder some of the blame for that whole situation. I mean, I was with my ex-wife when you met him, right? It's not like I was pining after you."

Yes, okay, so that's pretty much a lie. Even when he was with Gina, he could never quite scrub the image of Kate out of his mind. There were times in bed with his ex-wife when he had to clamp his jaw closed in case he accidentally groaned the wrong name.

Kate covers his hand with her own against the table top, shakes her head at him. "It doesn't matter anymore. I think we're both equally to blame. And I think we should just let it go. I mean, we're here now right?"

"We're here now." He agrees, shifting his chair over so he can let the warmth of her body soak through his shirt. Kate leans into him, her head settling into the curve between his neck and shoulder. It still surprises him every time she does this.

He's finding it hard to reconcile the previous four years of observing her at the precinct with the tangible evidence that Kate Beckett likes to snuggle.

"You come here often?" She hums, lifting an eyebrow at him.

Castle drains the rest of his glass, sets it back on the table and leans back in his chair. He curls an arm around her shoulder and watches the lap of the water against the harbour wall, the quiet shift of boats lulled to sleep. "Yeah. I like the view, and the food here is excellent. Alexis and Mother and I have enjoyed many a meal. We could eat here tonight if you wanted?"

"No. I want to cook for you tonight." She grins, kisses the cleft of his chin. Way off in the distance, gulls sweep against the canvas of sky like snatches of shadow and yachts sit cradled in the smudged edge of the horizon.

"Okay. Yeah. You can cook for me. You need to get any ingredients?"

Kate laughs, full-bodied and victorious. "No, I think you already have everything I could possibly need."

"Right." He smirks, and then his cell phone rings and he tugs it free from his pocket, shows Kate the caller ID.

"You'd better answer it."

Damn. Castle threads his fingers through the gaps in Kate's own, a frisson of pleasure winding through him at the clash and tangle of their knuckles, and then he presses accept. "Esposito, hi."

"Hey bro. We've put calls in to my sources in robbery, see if Beckett's back with Demming."

Rick wants so badly to roll his eyes at that. Seriously, guys? "Demming? Come on, Beckett can do so much better."

She glares at him over the rim of her glass and he backtracks, ignores Esposito's incessant talk in his ear. "Uuuh, thank you for the update. I gotta go."

"Why are you even helping them?" Kate says, settling her glass back at the table and folding her arms. It's a little terrifying when she looks at him like this. Like she's going to extract all of his secrets slowly and painfully. And maybe his organs too.

"Oh come on, the good news is they're completely fooled about us."

Kate shakes her head, some of the earlier hurt manifesting in the hard edge of tension at her jaw. "Well I don't understand why they even care."

"Meh, why do people care about Brangelina?"

Kate curls her fingers and smirks at him, leaning back in her chair to watch him. "Oh so we're Brangelina now?"

"No, no no, we're Rickate." Oh jeez, that's terrible. Castle wrinkles his nose in disgust, glad to see Kate frowning too. "No we're Kate-ick." She tilts her head at him, and he has to agree. That's probably worse. "Caskett? Ooh that's good cos of the whole murder thing. Caskett."

Opening her mouth to respond (agree, hopefully), Kate snaps it right back closed again at a voice from over his shoulder.

"Rick Castle!"

Oh jeez. He's on vacation. And one of the things he loves so much about the Hamptons is that no one cares here. It doesn't matter that he's something of a celebrity. People let him alone. People let his daughter alone, more importantly. This is their sanctuary.

Kate kicks him, vicious and entirely hidden under the table, and he shoots her a glare before he turns to see just who exactly seems to know him.

"Vinnie." Castle beams, standing up from his chair to shake the other man's hand. Kate stands too and comes around to his side, settling close like she's looking to claim him. He likes it.

Mm-hmm, he likes being claimed by Kate Beckett a whole lot.

"Kate, this is Vincent Cardano." To her credit, none of Kate's hesitation shows as she reaches out to shake Vinnie's hand. Of course she knows exactly who he is, but she doesn't let it show, and God he loves her for it.

"Katherine Beckett." She offers, and Vinnie's eyes widen as he rakes his gaze over her.

Alright, enough. Castle settles a possessive hand at the curve of Kate's spine, decides she's probably going to shoot him anyway so he might as well risk the press of his mouth to her cheek.

"This is the girlfriend? You know, Sal told me you're a changed man since you met her."

A flush crawls across his cheeks, entirely not helped by the smirk that Kate turns up to him. "Ah- Sal is Vinnie's cousin and a friend of mine. He's actually been pushing me to get together with Vinnie for years."

"I don't want to interrupt your time with your woman, Ricky." Vinnie says, and Castle feels the ripple of tension through Kate.

"Actually, why don't you come over to Castle's place for dinner tonight?"

Vinnie grins, reaches for Kate's hand again and shakes it vigorously. "I'd like that. See you tonight, then?"

"Sure, tonight." Holy shit, did he just squeak? Most likely yes, if the look Beckett levels on him is any indication. Vinnie says his goodbyes and leaves them alone and Kate moves towards the door, carefully not looking at him.

Once outside, he curls two fingers into the soft flesh of her palm and brings her up against him. "What the hell was that? You just invited Vinnie the Scar to dinner."

"I know." Kate bites her lip, meandering towards the dock without even seeming to realise.

"The head of the Cardano crime family." Castle whines, tugging at her hand to get her to slow down a little. He's half afraid she's going to fling herself into the harbour, so entrenched in her own mind she probably wouldn't even notice before the calm edges of the water closed over her head.

"I know. I just. . .wanted to prove that just because we're dating doesn't mean we have to ignore everyone else." She shrugs, stopping at the very end of the dock and leaning against the balustrade.

Castle curls his body around her own and dips down to kiss the milky slope of her neck. "Okay. That's fine. It'll be good to get it over with. And it'll be delayed gratification. Make the end result even more intense."

A shiver tears through Kate's body and she glances over her shoulder at him, her eyes darkening so rapidly it's like ink spilling out from her pupils. "Do you have a boat?"

"Do I have a- no, why?"

"Never mind." She shrugs, turning back to watch the soft brush of waves against the legs of the pier. Castle curls an arm around her waist, slipping up to brush his fingers to the underside of her breast. She lets him, and he immediately decides that he needs to get her someplace very private, very fast.

"Would you like to get a boat? We could spend the rest of the afternoon boat shopping."

Kate shrugs free from his grip just to roll her eyes at him, the corners of her mouth lifting just slightly. "What would we do with a boat?"

"Oh, so many things."

A/N: Just a reminder that I'm spoiler free, so please don't mention the sneaks or anything like that in your reviews! Thank you.