A/N I know I promised to update sooner... and I have no excuse for this. Except for the fact that life got in the way and I hope that you can accept this chapter as an apology. I am trying to make time for this and my other story (Call me Maybe), but it needs time because college is a pain in the ass. My apologies.
Disclaimer: Three months. And not even a single step closer to owning Castle.
He would have been happy with just that one kiss. It had to be one of the most mind blowing experiences he'd ever had in his life so far.
But when she had darted out her tongue to sooth the spot on his jaw she'd just bit on, he was gone. He tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her even closer to him. She moaned as he started to kiss down her neck, nipping gently on her pulse point.
She moved her hands to his face, forcing him to look at her. He tried to even out his breath as he made eye contact.
''We should um- slow down.'' He said, his hand still tangled in her hair.
''Ýeah- You're right.'' He kissed her lazily.
Rick smirked. ''I could really get used to this.''
She put her forehead against his. ''I think I could too.''
''Could you hand me my plate please?''
''Really, you're thinking about food right now?''
''What I'm thinking about now, probably isn't appropriate to say or do in this situation.''
She grinned. ''I can feel that.''
''Stop teasing.'' He groaned.
She shifted against him. ''You love it.''
''You know I do.'' He said, catching her lips in a passionate kiss. ''Now, could you hand me my plate please?''
''Fine.'' She grabbed his plate from behind her and handed it to him. He balanced it between them, one hand still on her waist to keep her close. ''Here you go.''
''Great, now close your eyes and open your mouth.''
She glared at him. ''Castle.''
''Just trust me. I won't do anything stupid.''
''You better not.'' She mumbled before closing her eyes. Castle quickly smeared the Nutella over a piece of pancake and grabbed his fork. He gently guided the fork to her mouth, but waited as he saw her slowly opening her eyes.
''You're peaking, Kate.''
She gasped. ''I'm not.''
''I know it when you are lying.'' He said in a sing-song voice. She groaned and he chuckled at her reaction. Slowly he continued to guide the fork to her mouth. ''You're going to love this.''
''Okay, that's actually pretty good.'' She admitted.
''See? I can act normal. I didn't do anything stupid.''
''Act, Rick, act.''
He childishly stuck out his tongue to her and she returned it.
''Can't go wrong with Nutella, Kate. I thought you knew that.'' He said laughing. ''Actually, have you've ever had a pancake with maple syrup?'' She shook her head. ''You haven't lived until the moment you've eaten a pancake with maple syrup. It's just so good.''
''I would love to believe you Castle and try it, but I'm actually kind of full.'' She said, patting her stomach.
''Already?''
She blushed. ''I'm not such a big eater.''
''Okay, that's acceptable. Want to go watch a movie then?''
''Why don't we clean this up first?''
''Sounds like a plan.''
XXXXXXXXXX
He woke up to the feeling of being pushed away, he instinctively held on tighter to the moving object. The object groaned and he realized that he wasn't hugging his pillow, but he was in fact, holding Kate in his arms. She pushed again and he finally loosened his grip.
''No no no shit. Castle, get up, you have to drive me to school.''
He rubbed his eyes and stretched quickly, hoping to get his system running. ''Good morning to you too, Kate.''
She leaned over him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. ''Good morning.''
''That's more like it.'' He said, a smile appearing on his face. ''Now, what seems to be the problem?''
''It's 8 am, I have a test in about-'' She checked the clock on his nightstand. ''Thirty minutes.''
''Just how important is this test?''
''Enough for me to stress about it.''
''That bad?'' He said while throwing on a shirt and a pair of jeans he had found discarded in the corner of his room.
''Let me put it this way; If I fail it, I won't be allowed to continue my course.''
''Where did you even find time to study? We spent every second together this week.'' He said wondering.
''You're a fast sleeper Castle, I wake up at the slightest noise. ''
''You should have woken me up!''
''That way I wouldn't have had time to study.''
''True story.'' He found his shoes near the door and quickly tied them. ''Okay, let me just grab my keys. Have you had breakfast yet?''
''Uh, no I just got up remember?'' She said sarcastically, tying her hair back.
''Right! Sorry!'' He said just as he ran of to the living room in search of his keys. Kate quickly got dressed and met up with him at the front door. ''Ready?'' She nodded. ''Let's go then.''
The drive was quick and Kate was running of within seconds Rick had pulled over. She did find the time somewhere in those three seconds to give him a sloppy kiss before she slammed the door in his face. He rolled down the window.
''What room are you in?''
''319!'' She yelled back before disappearing out of his sight. Castle shook his head with a smile and drove to the campus parking lot. Once he found a spot near his dorm, he parked and stepped out. He sent his mother a quick text that he hadn't had the opportunity to clean up the place before she would come back and that he would be back around noon to do so.
He reached his dorm and opened the door. What he didn't expect however, was a somewhat distressed Mark on the other side.
''Where did you go man? You never go away for the weekend. And you missed our poker night.'' He sulked.
Castle shrugged. ''I was out.''
''Seriously, what's up with you? Ever since you met that chick you are- different.'' Mark said, choosing his words carefully.
Instead of just slamming him up against the wall, like Rick had preferred to, he decided to let it slide. ''So how are you and Madison?''
Mark laughed. ''Nah dude, I saw her make out with another guy from our class- what's his name- Jeffrey something? Moron.''
Rick looked up. ''What's funny about that?''
''Well, he kind of looks like a panda now.''
Castle waved a hand through his hair and gave Mark a disapproving look. ''Two black eyes, seriously?''
Mark grinned as he continued throwing a tennis ball against the wall, waiting for it to bounce back. ''Yeah, Richard you missed a hell of a party. That wasn't the only thing that happened, the whole place got cleaned out, cops everywhere, it was crazy. And I hooked up with Jenny, you know the new girl in the cheerleading squad, she just moved here, great body.''
''I genuinely couldn't care less.'' He grabbed some clean clothes from his closet and retreated to the bathroom.
After making quick work of his shower, Castle walked back to the sleeping area and started working on his plan. Kate deserved a nice day, especially after the way they'd woken up that morning, something without worry and with complete relaxation. It needed to be special, because she is special, he thought to himself. He grabbed some drinks from the fridge, a sweater from his clean pile of laundry, a blanket and threw it in his backpack. Today is going to be special.
XXXXXXXXXX
Kate slumped out of the classroom as if the energy had been sucked out of her body. She found him leaning against the wall, much like a few weeks earlier when he convinced her to go out with him. He held out a cup coffee and a bag for her, hoping to cheer up her mood. ''Grande skim latte, two pumps of sugar-free vanilla and a bear claw.'' Rick left out the fact that he went to the other side of time just to get her that bear claw, knowing that she preferred them from that specific bakery, not that he would tell her that.
She desperately grabbed the coffee from his hand and took a sip. ''Oh my god, I love you.''
He was startled after hearing the words. And she didn't even correct herself. ''You're welcome.'' He said, a cheery smile on his face. She quickly took another sip and put the coffee on the table next to them. Kate grabbed Rick's shirt and pulled him to her level, kissing him sweetly.
''So what are you doing today?'' She said, playing with the hairs in his neck.
''I don't know, what are you doing today?''
''I like that question.'' He said smiling. ''Actually, I have all the ingredients for a picnic at the park.''
''Really?''
''Yes, really.''
''Alright, let's go then.''
He grabbed her hand and pulled her along to his car. They drove for a while before Kate grabbed his hand and started playing with his fingers. He quickly took a look at her, eyes still focused on the road and was unable to keep the smile of his face. He had to be the luckiest guy on earth, that he was sure of. He lifted her hand and gave a small kiss on it before lowering it back on the gear stick. A little while later they arrived at the park.
''We've reached our destination.''
Rick locked the car and caught up with Kate, who had already made her way towards one of the trees near the lake. The park was close to empty as it was still quite early, people wouldn't be going out for lunch in at least a couple of hours. A jogger ran by with his dog on a leash.
''Ah men, I want a dog.'' Rick said, dropping his backpack and taking the blanket out.
Kate laughed. ''I figured you were more of a cat person.''
''Me?! A cat person? Oh no way.'' Rick said shaking his head. ''The claws Kate, that shit hurts.''
She sat down on the blanket and pulled him along. ''Speaking from experience?''
''How do you think I got that scar on my forehead?''
''Knowing you, I thought you'd just run into a door or something.''
''That's a pretty good guess actually, but no, unfortunately not.'' He grabbed two cans from his backpack and handed one to Kate.
The opened the soda and took a gulp. ''Now this is a story that I want to hear.''
''My mom went to this party from one of her co-stars when I was little, but she couldn't find a nanny so she figured that it would be okay to bring me along. Just a small Christmas party, that was all it was right?'' Castle settled against the tree they were close to and pulled Kate closer to him. ''So, I went along. It was a Christmas party, like I said, and you know Christmas parties, people drink. And they tend to drink a lot more than necessary simple because they are lonely. Anyway, people were drunk and instead of being a great mother and bring me home like I wanted to. She decided we should stay, because that would be a nice thing to do. Turns out she was dating the person who had organized the whole thing.'' Rick shook his head. ''I was so bored and that's when it gets really ugly-''
''You found the cat?''
''Well, I started investigating, you know how I can be.'' He said, shrugging.
''A pain in the ass? Oh yeah, I know Castle.''
''I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that.'' He said, pulling her even closer, making her squeal. ''Now, where was I? Right, I was bored. So anyway, I found this one room upstairs that wasn't taken. Which was weird since all the other ones I'd been in were people. And so I found the room with an empty bed and being the small fellow I was and being way past bed time, I was tired and lay down on the bed. It was then when I felt something fluffy.''
''Turns out I had squeezed the cat's tale... and the cat jumped on my face.''
Kate couldn't stop laughing. ''The story isn't over yet.''
''Please, do tell.'' She said, wiping away some of the tears that had fallen.
''I was screaming bloody murder as I ran back into the living room, hoping to find my mother. I must have looked terrible, with blood streaming down my face. Of course it didn't help that I pulled that trick a few weeks before during Halloween with ketchup. My mom thought I was joking.''
''That's actually a horrible story Castle.''
''I know, still love my mom though.'' He said, chuckling. ''They didn't realize I wasn't faking until the cat ran out of the house and cleaned of my face to reveal a big scratch on my forehead. She took me to the hospital and I actually needed stitches. I'm very glad it healed well though.''
''Me too.'' She gently guided his head to her mouth and kissed the scar. ''Better?''
''Absolutely. Magic healing power'' He said, as he took her face in his hands and gently nipped on her bottom lip. ''Admit it, it's a pretty cool scar.''
She chuckled and gave a sweet kiss. ''Whatever you say Castle.''
They sat together in silence for a little while, enjoying the view and the feeling of being wrapped in each other's arms.
''So Kate, I've been thinking-''
She looked up from his shoulder. ''That doesn't sound too good.''
''Very, very funny Beckett.'' She laughed. ''Yes, I do tend to use my brain every once in a while. But that wasn't my point, what I wanted to say was... is this our first date?''
''I don't know, is it?''
''Do you want it to be?''
''I don't normally kiss on a first date.''
''It's not like we're a normal couple anyway.''
''Is that what we are?''
''I mean- What? We're not- I just-'' He stammered, his hands moving around wildly, as if trying to explain his words.
''You're cute when you stutter.''
''That's not funny Beckett, I actually thought you were mad at me.''
''Who says I'm not?''
''You confuse me woman!'' She kissed him. ''Little less confused.'' Another lingering kiss. ''Okay, you got your point across and I'm completely un-confused.''
''You sure?'' She said chuckling. ''Because I'm not quite sure that word exists.''
He gave her a sheepish smile. ''Maybe another one for the road, I'm confused a lot lately.''
''Oh shit, there are cops coming our way.'' Rick looked shocked and pointed to the cops who were, in fact, making their way to them. ''I don't want to get arrested for public indecency! Quick get our stuff.'' He picked up their stuff and ran towards the car. Kate couldn't stop laughing until they made it back to the car and got in.
They quickly settled and evened out their breath.
''So where shall we continue this date?''
''I was thinking your place?''
''Whatever you say Beckett is fine by me.''