Castle Fic: Snapshots: (#2) Lazy Afternoon
Snapshots: (#2) Lazy Afternoon
Artwork by txduck
Rating // Warnings: PG/T // None
Genre // ’Ship: Fluff, a little bit o’ PWP // Castle/Beckett
Timeline // Spoilers: Post-Always (4x23) // no future spoilers
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. To date, I have published nothing for pay, and until I do, I write just for the fun of it. :)
Summary: #2 in the Snapshots series. A lazy afternoon. Based on and inspired by txduck’s spectacular picture beneath this cut:
A/N: Figured I’d go ahead and post this one too, since it was done. :) Again, too impatient to get it beta'd, so mistakes are mine! :P
Remember! This is a SPOILER-FREE ZONE. Please do not spoil me for future eps. Thank you!
Enjoy! :D
<3 <3 <3
Link to #1 - Comfort
<3 <3 <3
#2 - Lazy Afternoon
Rick and Kate waited for Alexis to come home to share the news of the change in their relationship and say goodbye to her and his mother, and then they were off to the Hamptons, stopping by Kate’s apartment long enough for her to pack a bag.
The house was everything Kate had expected for Rick Castle’s vacation home, and yet, it was so much more. Three spacious bedrooms and a fourth that Castle used as an office, lightly painted and decorated walls throughout, large windows bringing in a lot of natural light, a ton of open space, and a view of the ocean from the kitchen, den, pool, and deck that took her breath away. It had far surpassed her imagination.
The first week there was spent in blissful vacation time, relaxing or walking on the beach, shopping and eating out, swimming or sitting by the pool. Kate was sure she’d never want to return to the city. By the next Saturday, she was content with the lifestyle of living with one very popular and wealthy author, knowing she had inadvertently snagged one of New York City’s most eligible bachelors right from under the noses of those debutantes, a few of whom she’d met since arriving at the beach with him. She’d recognized the jealous expressions on several women’s faces - young and old alike - that she’d met and knew that she’d captured the heart of a man that many of his neighbors had hoped to snag for themselves, their daughters or granddaughters. The thought that she hadn’t even really tried - concerned that it was just her infatuation with him as a fan that had been leading her heart for some time - and won him anyway, made her smile.
“You seem happy,” Rick noted when they were lazily making their way down the beach. Hand-in-hand, they were both barefoot, but he was in a t-shirt and jeans while she wore a yellow sundress that accentuated her curves.
“I am,” she admitted, hugging his arm with her free hand as well. “I was just thinking… Back when I was just a fan of your books, I never imagined I’d be here with you one day.”
He nodded, somehow understanding her to mean that she’d known about his beach house long before he’d invited her there. And that brought up another question in his mind. But he knew he’d have to ask it just right to keep her from clamming up and discover the truth. “Kate, you love me, don’t you?”
She smiled in embarrassment, since she had yet to say the words back to him, although he’d spoken them to her more than a handful of times and at least once a night. “Castle.”
“Okay,” he held up his free hand in surrender. “No pressure. But…you do at least care for me.” He’d stated it only because he knew it was true.
She met his eyes. “You know I do.”
Stopping them, he stepped in front of her and held both of her hands. “Then, tell me honestly…” He paused, and Kate swallowed hard. “How big of a fan of mine are you?”
Pursing her lips, Kate held back a grin. “I don’t have to answer that.”
“I know you were one of my followers on my blog, my website, my Twitter and Facebook, and all of that before we met, but…what else don’t I know?”
“Nothing,” she shrugged. “You’ve figured it all out.”
She tried to step around him, but he held her fast. “Uh-uh, you’re hiding something.”
“No, I’m not, Castle. There’s nothing else to tell.” She was starting to feel giggly, which only cemented his belief that she was lying, and she knew it. After a bit more argument on the subject, Kate found her opportunity, slipped from his hands, and took off running down the beach, laughing and looking over her shoulder as Rick chased her.
He caught her waist a few hundred feet down the beach (not that she was really trying to get away), and their tangled footing and the momentum of the chase made them tumble to the ground. Laying atop her with her back against the sand, Rick pinned her down with her hands above her head and asked her again what she did as a fan. She shook her head, laughingly refusing to answer. That’s when he began the tickle torture.
“Did you ever come to a book signing?” he asked once she was begging for mercy.
“Yes!” she gave in.
“How long did you wait in line? An hour? Two hours?” he continued tickling.
“Three, okay?!”
“Oh, a dedicated fan, then. Okay, answer this one, and I’ll let you go. Did you ever write me any fan mail?”
Kate really didn’t want to answer that one, and she was so going to make him pay for this torture later, though that would be much more fun, and it would be worth enduring this now.
Judging her silence, he made his own assumptions. “Oh, you did, didn’t you?! I’ll bet you were one of the naughty ones who sent me your panties!”
“I was not! I only offered my gratitude! I never sent anything except-”
“Except what?” he tickled again, but by now, Kate’s ribs were sensitive to his touch, and honestly, she was becoming more aroused by the second, which was not good, considering they were on a community beach, even if it wasn’t inhabited at the moment.
“Flowers when you were in the hospital!” she breathed, knowing she’d have to confess to get him to stop, so they could go back to his house, and…
He stopped abruptly, and pushed up and away from her slightly, his smile fading as he asked, “You sent those?”
“Yeah, right, Castle,” she smirked as she calmed and caught her breath. “I know you don’t remember that.”
“Yeah, I do,” he argued. “I was in the hospital passing a kidney stone, it was a blurb on the local news, I think, and that was the only bouquet I got that wasn’t from my mother, Alexis, or one of my ex-wives - which one, I can’t remember now, but it probably Gina, since she was my publisher even back then.”
“I’m sure you got plenty of flowers from fans.”
“I thought I would too!” he complained, making her laugh, though he was serious. “You might be surprised, but I didn’t. I got a few ‘Get Well’ cards, but yours were the only flowers.”
Kate searched his eyes and knew he was telling the truth. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“How could I forget it? Kate…” He seemed at a loss for words, knowing she’d been so attentive to him long before they ever met, so he bent and kissed her deeply, but briefly. “I think I just fell in love with you again.”
His body pressed against hers in the sand as he kissed her lips and cheeks and neck, Kate knew they’d have to move and soon. “Don’t love me so much here in public, Rick,” she breathlessly warned, his physical attention causing her mind to switch back to his given name. “Let’s go back to the house.”
When at first they’d hurried, the long walk back soon became relaxed again, with Kate leaning her head on his shoulder, their hands clasped, and her free arm possessively around his bicep. They made casual conversation about local shopping and attractions, eventually deciding that they didn’t want to go out to a restaurant as previously planned and instead decided to order in. “I think I’d like to write for a while before dinner, if that’s okay with you,” he told her when they’d reached the stairs to the back deck.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I like not having any plans for a change, just enjoying a lazy afternoon.”
Once inside the house, Rick retrieved his laptop from his office while Kate got them each a glass of lemonade, which she set on the end table to Rick’s left next to the couch in the living room. He saw that she’d set her glass down too and wondered, “You joining me?”
For some reason, she hadn’t been far from his side all week, though she couldn’t understand it herself. Normally a loner, there was something refreshing with the idea of being with him every minute, for every activity. It hadn’t made either of them uncomfortable or eager to be apart, and she knew that wasn’t implied in his hopeful inquiry now. If either of them were to eventually pull away from the other, they both knew it would be Kate that would retreat first. He didn’t seem to mind either way, so, for now, she’d make the most of the closeness she desired for as long as it lasted.
“I’ll read a book and be quiet,” she promised with a smile, answering his query. She made sure to see the delight in his eyes before heading off to the master bedroom to retrieve one of the books she’d grabbed from her apartment before they left the city.
She was back in a few minutes and stretched out on the couch on her back, using his thigh as a pillow, when she heard him snort and chuckle. “What?” she questioned slyly, knowing exactly what he was snickering at. She was holding the hard-bound copy of his latest published, Nikki Heat novel, Frozen Heat, that he’d not only given her, but had dedicated to and signed the title page for her.
“I like your choice of reading material. Is it good?”
“It’s delightfully entertaining,” she shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant about it. In all honesty, there was something romantic in the idea that she was reading words in a book that he’d written, and most of them for her, inspired by her. Every word seemed to ooze his love for her, from his heart to his laptop to her books. To sit beside him while he wrote words she’d someday read and love like the ones she was enjoying now made her feel even closer to him. She loved that about their relationship; even if it was new to hug and hold and kiss him, the words and his love had been there between them, in a tangible way, printed on those pages, for quite a long time. Her love, too, even if she had yet to confess it.
“And what do you think of the author?” he continued their playful conversation.
She flipped to the back of the book where Rick’s smiling black-and-white portrait graced the page and ran her fingers across the photo, pushing back the memories of how many times she’d done that before she’d actually met him. They had plenty of time ahead for her to confess everything. “He’s kinda cute,” she teased, staying on topic.
“Only ‘kind of?’”
“Well…” she voiced, intending to tease, but finding it a good opportunity to finally speak her heart. It began to pound as she stared blankly at the pages and quietly revealed, “I love him, anyway. I hope he knows that.”
Rick knew it had taken a lot for her to speak the words, and he respected her quiet reserve on the subject, even if he honestly did just want to celebrate with cheers and kisses. He managed to remain composed, as she focused again on the book’s pages, casually propping his elbow on the cushion of the couch. There he held his temple with his fingertips with his left hand to continue scrolling through what he’d recently written with his right, trying not react in a way that would scare her and make her retreat or recant her words. Those special words of love.
Taking a breath to calm his joyful heart, he softly replied, “He does now.”
<3 <3 <3
♥ Reviews are love! ♥
Artwork by txduck
Rating // Warnings: PG/T // None
Genre // ’Ship: Fluff, a little bit o’ PWP // Castle/Beckett
Timeline // Spoilers: Post-Always (4x23) // no future spoilers
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. To date, I have published nothing for pay, and until I do, I write just for the fun of it. :)
Summary: #2 in the Snapshots series. A lazy afternoon. Based on and inspired by txduck’s spectacular picture beneath this cut:
A/N: Figured I’d go ahead and post this one too, since it was done. :) Again, too impatient to get it beta'd, so mistakes are mine! :P
Remember! This is a SPOILER-FREE ZONE. Please do not spoil me for future eps. Thank you!
Enjoy! :D
<3 <3 <3
Link to #1 - Comfort
<3 <3 <3
#2 - Lazy Afternoon
Rick and Kate waited for Alexis to come home to share the news of the change in their relationship and say goodbye to her and his mother, and then they were off to the Hamptons, stopping by Kate’s apartment long enough for her to pack a bag.
The house was everything Kate had expected for Rick Castle’s vacation home, and yet, it was so much more. Three spacious bedrooms and a fourth that Castle used as an office, lightly painted and decorated walls throughout, large windows bringing in a lot of natural light, a ton of open space, and a view of the ocean from the kitchen, den, pool, and deck that took her breath away. It had far surpassed her imagination.
The first week there was spent in blissful vacation time, relaxing or walking on the beach, shopping and eating out, swimming or sitting by the pool. Kate was sure she’d never want to return to the city. By the next Saturday, she was content with the lifestyle of living with one very popular and wealthy author, knowing she had inadvertently snagged one of New York City’s most eligible bachelors right from under the noses of those debutantes, a few of whom she’d met since arriving at the beach with him. She’d recognized the jealous expressions on several women’s faces - young and old alike - that she’d met and knew that she’d captured the heart of a man that many of his neighbors had hoped to snag for themselves, their daughters or granddaughters. The thought that she hadn’t even really tried - concerned that it was just her infatuation with him as a fan that had been leading her heart for some time - and won him anyway, made her smile.
“You seem happy,” Rick noted when they were lazily making their way down the beach. Hand-in-hand, they were both barefoot, but he was in a t-shirt and jeans while she wore a yellow sundress that accentuated her curves.
“I am,” she admitted, hugging his arm with her free hand as well. “I was just thinking… Back when I was just a fan of your books, I never imagined I’d be here with you one day.”
He nodded, somehow understanding her to mean that she’d known about his beach house long before he’d invited her there. And that brought up another question in his mind. But he knew he’d have to ask it just right to keep her from clamming up and discover the truth. “Kate, you love me, don’t you?”
She smiled in embarrassment, since she had yet to say the words back to him, although he’d spoken them to her more than a handful of times and at least once a night. “Castle.”
“Okay,” he held up his free hand in surrender. “No pressure. But…you do at least care for me.” He’d stated it only because he knew it was true.
She met his eyes. “You know I do.”
Stopping them, he stepped in front of her and held both of her hands. “Then, tell me honestly…” He paused, and Kate swallowed hard. “How big of a fan of mine are you?”
Pursing her lips, Kate held back a grin. “I don’t have to answer that.”
“I know you were one of my followers on my blog, my website, my Twitter and Facebook, and all of that before we met, but…what else don’t I know?”
“Nothing,” she shrugged. “You’ve figured it all out.”
She tried to step around him, but he held her fast. “Uh-uh, you’re hiding something.”
“No, I’m not, Castle. There’s nothing else to tell.” She was starting to feel giggly, which only cemented his belief that she was lying, and she knew it. After a bit more argument on the subject, Kate found her opportunity, slipped from his hands, and took off running down the beach, laughing and looking over her shoulder as Rick chased her.
He caught her waist a few hundred feet down the beach (not that she was really trying to get away), and their tangled footing and the momentum of the chase made them tumble to the ground. Laying atop her with her back against the sand, Rick pinned her down with her hands above her head and asked her again what she did as a fan. She shook her head, laughingly refusing to answer. That’s when he began the tickle torture.
“Did you ever come to a book signing?” he asked once she was begging for mercy.
“Yes!” she gave in.
“How long did you wait in line? An hour? Two hours?” he continued tickling.
“Three, okay?!”
“Oh, a dedicated fan, then. Okay, answer this one, and I’ll let you go. Did you ever write me any fan mail?”
Kate really didn’t want to answer that one, and she was so going to make him pay for this torture later, though that would be much more fun, and it would be worth enduring this now.
Judging her silence, he made his own assumptions. “Oh, you did, didn’t you?! I’ll bet you were one of the naughty ones who sent me your panties!”
“I was not! I only offered my gratitude! I never sent anything except-”
“Except what?” he tickled again, but by now, Kate’s ribs were sensitive to his touch, and honestly, she was becoming more aroused by the second, which was not good, considering they were on a community beach, even if it wasn’t inhabited at the moment.
“Flowers when you were in the hospital!” she breathed, knowing she’d have to confess to get him to stop, so they could go back to his house, and…
He stopped abruptly, and pushed up and away from her slightly, his smile fading as he asked, “You sent those?”
“Yeah, right, Castle,” she smirked as she calmed and caught her breath. “I know you don’t remember that.”
“Yeah, I do,” he argued. “I was in the hospital passing a kidney stone, it was a blurb on the local news, I think, and that was the only bouquet I got that wasn’t from my mother, Alexis, or one of my ex-wives - which one, I can’t remember now, but it probably Gina, since she was my publisher even back then.”
“I’m sure you got plenty of flowers from fans.”
“I thought I would too!” he complained, making her laugh, though he was serious. “You might be surprised, but I didn’t. I got a few ‘Get Well’ cards, but yours were the only flowers.”
Kate searched his eyes and knew he was telling the truth. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“How could I forget it? Kate…” He seemed at a loss for words, knowing she’d been so attentive to him long before they ever met, so he bent and kissed her deeply, but briefly. “I think I just fell in love with you again.”
His body pressed against hers in the sand as he kissed her lips and cheeks and neck, Kate knew they’d have to move and soon. “Don’t love me so much here in public, Rick,” she breathlessly warned, his physical attention causing her mind to switch back to his given name. “Let’s go back to the house.”
When at first they’d hurried, the long walk back soon became relaxed again, with Kate leaning her head on his shoulder, their hands clasped, and her free arm possessively around his bicep. They made casual conversation about local shopping and attractions, eventually deciding that they didn’t want to go out to a restaurant as previously planned and instead decided to order in. “I think I’d like to write for a while before dinner, if that’s okay with you,” he told her when they’d reached the stairs to the back deck.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I like not having any plans for a change, just enjoying a lazy afternoon.”
Once inside the house, Rick retrieved his laptop from his office while Kate got them each a glass of lemonade, which she set on the end table to Rick’s left next to the couch in the living room. He saw that she’d set her glass down too and wondered, “You joining me?”
For some reason, she hadn’t been far from his side all week, though she couldn’t understand it herself. Normally a loner, there was something refreshing with the idea of being with him every minute, for every activity. It hadn’t made either of them uncomfortable or eager to be apart, and she knew that wasn’t implied in his hopeful inquiry now. If either of them were to eventually pull away from the other, they both knew it would be Kate that would retreat first. He didn’t seem to mind either way, so, for now, she’d make the most of the closeness she desired for as long as it lasted.
“I’ll read a book and be quiet,” she promised with a smile, answering his query. She made sure to see the delight in his eyes before heading off to the master bedroom to retrieve one of the books she’d grabbed from her apartment before they left the city.
She was back in a few minutes and stretched out on the couch on her back, using his thigh as a pillow, when she heard him snort and chuckle. “What?” she questioned slyly, knowing exactly what he was snickering at. She was holding the hard-bound copy of his latest published, Nikki Heat novel, Frozen Heat, that he’d not only given her, but had dedicated to and signed the title page for her.
“I like your choice of reading material. Is it good?”
“It’s delightfully entertaining,” she shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant about it. In all honesty, there was something romantic in the idea that she was reading words in a book that he’d written, and most of them for her, inspired by her. Every word seemed to ooze his love for her, from his heart to his laptop to her books. To sit beside him while he wrote words she’d someday read and love like the ones she was enjoying now made her feel even closer to him. She loved that about their relationship; even if it was new to hug and hold and kiss him, the words and his love had been there between them, in a tangible way, printed on those pages, for quite a long time. Her love, too, even if she had yet to confess it.
“And what do you think of the author?” he continued their playful conversation.
She flipped to the back of the book where Rick’s smiling black-and-white portrait graced the page and ran her fingers across the photo, pushing back the memories of how many times she’d done that before she’d actually met him. They had plenty of time ahead for her to confess everything. “He’s kinda cute,” she teased, staying on topic.
“Only ‘kind of?’”
“Well…” she voiced, intending to tease, but finding it a good opportunity to finally speak her heart. It began to pound as she stared blankly at the pages and quietly revealed, “I love him, anyway. I hope he knows that.”
Rick knew it had taken a lot for her to speak the words, and he respected her quiet reserve on the subject, even if he honestly did just want to celebrate with cheers and kisses. He managed to remain composed, as she focused again on the book’s pages, casually propping his elbow on the cushion of the couch. There he held his temple with his fingertips with his left hand to continue scrolling through what he’d recently written with his right, trying not react in a way that would scare her and make her retreat or recant her words. Those special words of love.
Taking a breath to calm his joyful heart, he softly replied, “He does now.”
<3 <3 <3
♥ Reviews are love! ♥