THREE YEARS and FOUR MONTHS LATER. May 2014.
The crowd is perhaps one of the more eclectic that he's ever been part of in his life. Weaving between small groups of people as he is, he's spotted cops and creatives, lawyers and writers, and the back of the head of who he will swear was a rather famous movie star, one that he happens to know is being courted to play the role of Jameson Rook.
Will wishes he didn't know that, but some things have filtered into his brain over the years, and Richard Castle's international success for his spin off novel that had introduced the world to one Nikki Heat had stuck like not much else could. After learning about the novel, he had regularly googled for more information, and his efforts had taught him that the buddy cop novels which had brought the man such success after Derrick Storm were being expanded and introducing a tough female detective that would oversee the pair based on Ryan and Esposito that were commonly referred to with one moniker in the books 'Roach'.
Four books later, Nikki Heat had risen through the ranks to earn her Lieutenant badge, the promotion coming in the last pages and, hot on its release date heels, the news that Rick Castle had sold the rights to a series of movies and multiple A-listers were courting him and the studio for the chance at various roles.
Shaking his head in embarrassment at himself, Will snags a flute of champagne when a waiter walks past, taking a moment to lean against the pristine white fence that runs the length of the extensive backyard of Castle's Hamptons estate. To his left, the property rolls gently towards a large pool and guest house that matches the main building and to his right there is a sharp cliff with unobstructed views of the water. He already knows from previous observation that there are a set of stairs to lead you to the ocean and the sand, though he's seen no one head that direction just yet. Instead, all the guests are clustered around for cocktail hour, nibbling on tiny bites served from the silver platters of other waiters and sipping, like him, from champagne or any number of drinks one can order from the large bar stationed beside what is sure to become a dance floor later on in the night.
His first sip of alcohol is slow, blue eyes swiveling across the crowd both in observance and surveillance. The object of his search is of no surprise, nor is she hard to spot despite the nearly two hundred individuals that have arrived to celebrate.
Kate's glowing as she stands with her father and Lanie, a brilliant smile on her face as a breeze picks up and ruffles the loose curls framing her face. Her hair is lighter now, sun kissed with caramel and gold, and he's decided after half an hour of watching her stand in front of this crowd that it quite suits her. Unlike the last time he saw her in a wedding dress, she's put all of it up in an elegant and elaborate design.
The dress is also different. The sleek satin column she'd picked for their canceled nuptials has been traded for something that seems to float when she walks, delicate lace and the subtle glitter of something woven into the fabric catching the light when Kate moves in a certain way. The thin straps at her shoulders are also delicate, but like everything else with her today, it only accentuates her beauty and her strength.
It's different. They're different, and even if he's long made his peace with it all, he isn't going to deny how weird it is.
Will pushes away from the fence with determination, weaving once again through the cluster of guests until he's reached the trio. Predictably, it's Lanie who sees him first, on her way to talk to a group of other guests, and it does a world of good for his nerves to watch the surprise, the confusion, and the question of why he's at Kate Beckett's wedding slide across her face before she can reign it in and smile at him in welcome.
Jim Beckett doesn't seem ruffled when their eyes meet, which leaves him guessing that Kate at least told her father that she had invited him, but he knows from the moment that his former fiancé spins to face him that she never expected him to actually show up.
"Will!" Kate's grinning even before she's said his name, her eyes twinkling with delight as she raises her arms to draw him in for a hug, "You came!"
The laugh slides out of him with ease, serving to burn away any lingering awkwardness that might have been swirling between the two of them when he steps forward to return her hug. "And miss this soiree? Never," he teases, stepping forward to shake Jim's hand when the man offers it to him..
"Katie, I'm gonna leave you two to catch up," Jim tells his daughter, dusting a kiss at her cheek, "Good to see you again, Will."
It's a relief to know that Kate's dad actually meant the words given how badly things had ended with his daughter, and he takes a moment to watch him step back across the lawn, stopping beside a woman with flaming red hair that he distantly recognizes as Castle's mother.
"Aren't you supposed to be in Prague?" Kate asks once her father has taken his leave and Will's returned his attention to her.
"I got back two weeks ago," he grins, "But that was where I went. The opportunity came open not long after you moved back to New York, and I took a chance. Spent three years out there, did some good, met some interesting people…."
"Would one of those be the blonde that sat next to you during the ceremony?" she asks, lips twisting in one of those all knowing little smirks that used to both annoy him and drive Will to distraction.
"Her name's Elise," he laughs, filling in the blanks for Kate before she can pepper him with questions. "She was over there teaching English as a second language, and it just…...it worked, from the word go. We're getting married in October, in Rhode Island of all places."
"Your mother is gonna love that," Kate chuckles, tucking one of those stray curls framing her face behind an ear, "Shunning a big New York society wedding."
"Oh she's miserable, but there is an incredibly ostentatious bridal shower being held at the Plaza to appease her," Will replies with a slow raise of his eyebrows, "How is life as a NYPD Lieutenant?"
"The usual," she hums, "Terrible pay, long hours, constant paperwork."
"Like you would want to do anything else," he says, the argument in his voice light even though they both know the truth of the words.
"Definitely not," Kate agrees with a quick grin, "The FBI never really felt right once I left Quantico. I just told myself that the importance of the job was bigger than my happiness about what I was doing day after day. But going back, working with my team….it's what I'm meant to do, where I'm supposed to be."
For a moment, he bites his tongue, weighing the merits of saying what's on his mind with her words. "I think that was the case for both of us," he admits, "And, really, it's worked out for the best hasn't it?"
Kate's answering smile is really all the confirmation that he needs, though the soft murmur of agreement she gives is just as welcome, a murmur that quickly turns into a quiet laugh when Rick Castle saddles up to the pair of them and lays a smacking, noisy kiss against her left cheek.
"Castle!" she shrieks, lightly swatting at her new husband's arm, gentle in how she pushes him away though anyone watching them could easily tell it's all for show. Katherine Beckett is hopelessly in love, and that glow Will had noted while watching her earlier only seems to be more pronounced when the two of them are standing together, the fingers of her left hand and Rick's right already intertwined.
His years of being trained to observe everything means that he notices details that others might not, and the image of the writer lightly twisting the pair of rings that Kate now wears on her left hand, and the way Kate's eyes widen just a fraction and her mouth twitches with pleasure is something that he doesn't think he'll soon be forgetting.
"Will," Castle greets him formally once he's taken notice of who his wife has been chatting with, the slightest chill coming in with the May breeze that rolls in from the ocean as the late spring day turns slowly to twilight.
"Rick," he says without hesitation, offering his hand for a quick shake. It's as much a gesture of forgiveness as it is greeting, but whatever frostiness might have been lingering between them dissipates when he closes his hand over the writer's. By the time they separate, Rick is smiling, the corners of his eyes twinkling with that same bubbling happiness that Kate has, "Good to see you," Will adds, pleased to find that he means it, "You do know you'll have your hands full with this one, don't you?"
The laugh he gives is one from a man that knows all too well the truth of such words. Kate Beckett is certainly a lot of things, but easy to handle and, sometimes, being easy to love aren't possibly her most attractive qualities. "No doubt," Castle grins at him, a second laugh flowing out of him when he catches Kate's stern look, "But I think I'm up to the challenge."
"Said like he isn't a pain in the ass himself," she sighs, but the angry retort she's trying to give doesn't quite land its mark, not when she's having to bite back the smile that's been plastered on her face the entire day.
"Take care of her, Rick," Will says, meeting Kate's eyes for just a moment, "You've got one hell of a woman there."
"Believe me," Castle tells him, stepping forward to draw Kate against him and press a light kiss against her hair, "I know."
With a final smile and a lift of his nearly empty champagne glass, Will turns to head back across the lawn, making a straight line for the petite blonde woman that's standing alone and waiting for him. It's like the final weight being lifted off his chest, ensuring himself that Kate is happy and where she's meant to be. In some weird, circle of life moment, he feels like he's walking away from his past and into his future, grasping Elise's hand with his and bending to kiss her in a way that isn't unlike Castle's brush to Kate's hair.
But it's good, he thinks. Even if it hurt to live through, they both ended where they belonged.
"You owe me twenty bucks," the murmur curls against the outer shell of Kate's ear, enveloping her in whatever spell her husband is trying to cast, though she'd bet a certain measure of money it's simply distraction versus the purr of seduction that her hormones want it to be.
Still, she scoffs, her eyes moving in a well practiced and regularly utilized roll, though she adds the dig of her elbow into Castle's ribs and grins at the soft exhale he gives in response, "I am not giving you twenty bucks because your male pride wanted to bet on Will coming to our wedding."
"Man, you are cranky when you lose…." Rick chuckles, dipping his head to touch his mouth to the tender spot just below Kate's ear that he knows will make her twitch. And when she does, he grins, incredibly proud of himself at knowing her so well and, really, at just being able to call her his.
Not that he needed a marriage and a ring to do that, but it's nice to have it all official nonetheless.
"Who's the new girl?" he asks once Kate has leaned into him, bestowing her own gentle peck against a jawline that's beginning to sport the beginning of a five o'clock shadow. From their spot at the edge of the reception, his arms wrapped around her waist and Kate's hands resting on top of his, they have the perfect vantage point to see Will and a girl that Rick doesn't know, but Will obviously is dating.
"Elise," Kate hums, tilting her head to grin at him, "They're getting married in October."
And, just like that, her grin is sharper, suddenly victorious. As usual, she's managed to one up him.
"Damn," Rick groans, hating himself for allowing Kate to goad him into a second bet that not only would Will come to the wedding, but he would be seriously dating someone else. "Now I owe you twenty bucks."
"I don't recall betting you with money, Rick," she practically sing songs, those long fingers of hers dancing across the dark fabric of his suit, "But I expect you'll live up to your end of the bargain."
"You have no idea," he nearly growls the words in her ear, his vivid imagination easily able to picture the payment that Kate had outlined for him if she were to win flashing in his mind. Hell, he would have given in even if she had lost.
"They look happy together," Kate says, drawing his attention back from the urge to sneak away and lock themselves in the master suite for the rest of the reception. She's still watching Will and Elise as they stand together, now in animated conversation with Ryan, Esposito and Alexis, "I'm glad for him. He deserves someone special."
"Looks to me like he got it," Rick replies, smiling as Elise gives a laugh and turns her head to smile at Will. He knows that look. It's the same one that Kate gives him, the look that frequently pushes the air from his lungs and causes his heart to skip a beat. "She loves him very much."
"It all worked out in the end," Kate says, nudging her forehead against his cheek with such a gentleness that his heart swells up with emotion. Before he's really thought about it, Rick has turned his head to capture her mouth, holding her steady with a broad palm lifting to hover against her cheek.
He pours it all into the kiss: how much he loves her, how lucky he is to have her and be loved by her, how thankful he is that she took a risk and uprooted her life to give them a shot to be here today. The best part of it all is that Kate, as usual, matches him tit for tat, pouring all of that and more back into the contact until they're both breathless and a bit dizzy.
"You know me," he says once they've broken apart, the words a little strained from a lack of oxygen, "I'm a believer in fate and destiny, and I know you think it's all ridiculous, but you and I? We ran into one another again for a reason, Kate. And I fully believe that reason was so we could be together and get our happy ending."
"You're right," she agrees, leaning forward for a quick peck at his mouth, "I don't believe in any of that stuff, but I believe in you, and I believe in how much I love you and how good we are together. And isn't that all that matters?"
"It's all that matters to me at any rate."
Kate's answer is a grin while she steps out of his arms, though she maintains a hold on his left hand, "Come on, Mr. Castle, I believe you owe your wife a dance."
His laugh is low and soft, but the way her eyes sparkle at him is enough to know that she heard. "My pleasure, Mrs. Castle," he murmurs, content to follow, just as he usually is, in Kate's lead.
A/N: And there you have it, the conclusion of one of my favorite fanfics that I've ever written. Thanks to everyone that has followed this story, read this story, and reviewed this story. I thought when I started working on this that a couple dozen people might read it, but it's truly grown to be one of the most popular things I've written which is both surprising and humbling. I also want to thank the prompter of this fic on the Castle Fanfics Prompts Blog on Tumblr for coming up with the idea, without which I wouldn't have written this. I hope it lived up to your expectations. :)