summa cum laude

A Caskett AU in the Reference Material and TGIF universe

Rated: M

Based on the prompt from ipreferwestside and allylobster:

TextsFromLastNight TFLN (614): We broke my graduation cords last night when we used them to tie each other up during sex last night

Note: This was previously posted as part of my oneshot collection As the Story Goes, but since a single prompt has spawned a series of its own, I'm going to be posting all Reference Material-verse ficlets separately. If you've read these stories already, thank you, and I hope you like them this time around. If you're reading for the first time, thank you as well. I hope you enjoy!

"Richard Castle, I am going to kill you."

Uh oh.

His Post-Graduation Breakfast dance comes to an end as quickly as it began – if not faster. Still, he takes a moment to tap the wooden spoon against the edge of his favorite mixing bowl, lest he drip pancake batter everywhere as he runs away from the woman storming across his kitchen.

"I, ah, what? What'd I do?" Good Rick, go for innocent. Innocent until proven guilty, after all.

"You broke my honor cords."

Ah, that. Though in his defense – "Technically, honey, you broke them. When you–"

"Not the point, Rick," she cuts him off, one eyebrow practically meeting her hairline. Oh, she's so sexy when she does that. So very, very sexy.

"Well if it saves my life, I think getting the story straight is very much the point."

He's confident the woman he loves won't actually murder him, though it's possible she might seriously consider wringing his neck if he's not careful. They're still a few minutes away from that, he thinks, so in the interest of telling his side of the story - and in the interest of watching the flush spread across the exposed skin of her chest and neck - he'll keep going.

"We're going to my mom and dad's later. They're going to ask what happened, and I can't exactly tell my parents that we broke my honor cords because I let you tie me up during sex!"

A chuckle rumbles low in his chest, but he does his best to tamp it down; it's neither the time nor the place, after all. Instead, he reaches for her, skimming his hands underneath the hem of the V-neck night shirt she wears and pulling her into the wall of his body.

Kate sighs, but comes without protest, knocking her head against his chin.

"Let's see these cords."

She hums, dangling the offending honor cords under his nose, waiting patiently for his eyes to focus. Slipping a hand from her shirt, he turns her wrist, giving each of the ropes a careful inspection.

Memories of the previous night roll through his mind; the way she had looked up at him as he'd looped the purple and white strands around her wrists, the way she had strained against them as his mouth made lazy trails down her belly before connecting with her –

"They're not that bad," he chokes, forcing his attention back to the present. He licks his lips, indulging in the phantom taste of her on his tongue.

Kate's eyes narrow. "They're frayed."

From the way she stretched and squirmed against them with every stroke of his tongue, no doubt. But he won't say that. Not while she's still upset.

"Just a little unraveled," he says instead, brushing his thumb against the small of her back. "We'll fix that."

"Uh huh. And this one?" She shows him the second cord, this one a little worse off than the first.

"Okay, that one will be a little tougher to repair, but it doesn't look terrible."

"The bottom tassel's gone and there are strings all over the bedroom floor," she clips. "What the hell did we do last night?"

That makes him snicker. He can't help it. He doesn't remember how the knot holding the tassel came loose, though he suspects it was yanked free in the process of untying another knot, but even she has to admit the destruction is a little funny.

"We had some really great sex."

Kate laughs finally, lowering her hand. The cords fall, knocking against his thigh, skimming his skin. His groin tightens at the reminder of the ways she had turned the tables on him; the lazy brush of the acrylic rope over his bare chest, over the sensitive skin on his inner thighs, over his… other parts.

"It was good, wasn't it?" she hums.

"Mhmm. And if I remember correctly, the honor cords were your idea. I distinctly remember hearing your sultry voice say, 'Babe, you know what we could try?' in my ear last night as I was trying to get the door unlocked."

Her teeth scrape his bare shoulder. "Don't sell me out here. I didn't hear you complaining about the suggestion."

"Oh, definitely not. But don't blame me for the unfortunate demise of your cords. It was a joint effort to do the damage we did. An extremely pleasurable joint effort."

She huffs, looping her arms around his waist. "Fine."

"Fine," he echoes, allowing his face to split into a grin. Death and maiming averted.

"And hey," he murmurs after she's relaxed against him, her body warm and pliant, pressing his lips to her hairline. "Take my cords to your mom and dad's today. They're the same."

"Yeah, but they're yours. Don't you want to show them off?"

One shoulder lifts. "I don't mind trading with you," he says. "We'll tell people mine got caught in a door or something on the way home last night."

Kate chuckles into his skin, brushing gentle fingertips up the line of his spine. "You came close to doing that a few times. Remember? On the subway?"

"And that's what makes it the perfect cover. Nobody has to know the damage was done because we tied each other up and had our wicked way with one another."

Her shoulders shake with silent laughter, but he feels the shiver travel through her limbs at the reminder. "So wicked I wasn't sure my legs would hold me when I got out of bed."

"Well," he hums, slipping his hand down her back, over the curve of her bare ass to brush the top of her thigh. "Allow me to help with that."

He lifts, dislodging her arms from his waist to draw her legs around him, ignoring her squawk of surprise. Her honor cords drop to the floor, freeing her palms to settle on his cheeks. Her mouth lands hard against his, tongue darting over his lips, retreating the moment he opens to her, daring him to chase her.

He does, slicking his tongue between her lips, brushing the roof of her mouth as her hips rock against his belly. Higher than he wants her to be, higher than she wants to be.

"Sorry I threatened to murder you," she mumbles, giving his lower lip a gentle tug. His laughter comes out strangled, but she just grins, arching in his arms. "I wouldn't have done it. Would miss you too much."

"Thanks, but you're kinda killing me right now," he says, surging toward the counter. She jolts in his arms, cursing as her skin comes into contact with the marble. "Sorry, sorry."

"S'okay," she pants, slipping her hand between them to caress him through his boxers. He jerks into her ministrations, slipping his own hands under her shirt to tease her sides, moving higher until his fingers brush the sides of her breasts. She shivers, pushing into him. "Just warm me up."

His mouth slides over her neck, tongue circling one of a couple reddened smudges she must not have noticed yet. She'll probably threaten him for all of them later, when they're getting ready to go to her parents' house for their combined graduation party and dinner, but her mewl tells him how very little she cares right now about him marking her.

"Fuck, Rick," she gasps as his thumbs brush her nipples, rolling in lazy circles, pushing into his touch. His lips twist, pleased with his ability to drive her crazy after just a few simple touches. A moment later, her hand worms into the gap in his boxers to stroke his length, robbing him of his smugness. "Off. Take it off."

He chuckles, but it's a needy, ragged thing even to his own ears. "Me or you?"

His hips buck at the twist of her hand, the slide of her thumb against his tip.

"You. Me. Both, either." She strokes him again, hooking her toe in his waistband to help guide his underwear from his hips. "Do I look like I'm picky at this point?"

Rick laughs, kicking out of his boxers and stripping her of the sleep shirt without protest. No, she doesn't look picky. She looks wild and flushed with arousal – so fucking sexy – and his mouth crashes to hers, desperate for any taste of her he can have.

Her fingers flutter against him, faltering in their rhythm as his hand trails over her chest and down her belly. She gasps into his mouth at the first caress, the first slide of his fingers through her folds, the first press of his thumb against her clit. Her hips shift, lifting off the counter when he finally presses a finger, then a second one, inside her.

His eyes slam shut as she mimics the touch, stroking as he strokes, twisting as his thumb circles, speeding up as he plays her body with practiced ease.

"Kate," he groans, scrambling for thoughts of ice caps and other cold, unsexy things, even as his hips rock into her hand. "Gotta stop that."

She puffs a laugh, grazing his chin with her teeth. "Then stop teasing me," she growls, clutching at his arm with her free hand as he doubles his efforts, pumps his fingers faster, works her higher and higher.

Rick nips at her neck. "No teasing," he breathes, feeling her shudder against him with a final flick of his thumb. Her back arches, nails flashing against his shoulder, his name spilling from her lips as she falls over the edge.

"Oh," Kate breathes, knocking her head against his, seeking his mouth. "I love you."

"Yeah?" he singsongs, coaxing the last of the aftershocks from her body before his fingers still and then withdraw.

In lieu of an answer, Kate hums, skimming her fingers over his eager flesh once again. She pulls him into the cradle of her hips, pressing her lips to his jaw, his neck. Rick jolts at the touch, needy for more. Needy for her.

Without a word, she lines him up, welcoming him into her body with a soft sigh.

His first thrust is short, shallow, giving her time to adjust, and she mewls, her hands fluttering over his hips in encouragement.

"I'm good, I'm good," she pants, burying a moan in his neck as his hips rock again; harder, deeper. "I'msogood."

Want teases at the base of his spine, egging him on. One hand tangles in her hair turning her face into his to share his breath. The other grips her hip, holds her steady for every thrust, every withdrawal from her body, every maddening step toward their peak.

Her legs wind around his waist, heels digging into the curve of his ass. The change in angle draws a harsh groan from his lips, has her pressing her breasts against his chest, her walls fluttering around him with her impending release.

"Shit, Kate," he chokes.

She nods, steadying her wobbly head with the indelicate smudge of her mouth over his. His heart stumbles at the touch, his hips stilling for the briefest of seconds before he finds his rhythm once more.

Her back arches, breathy words of encouragement coming in sharp pants against his lips, stoking the embers of desire in his belly until they engulf him. His gut tightens, each thrust growing sharper, more erratic, than the one before, chasing sweet bliss.

Slipping a hand between them, he cups her breast, drawing another heady gasp from her when he pinches her nipple. Her hips jolt, rising to meet his as his fingers slip lower, teasing light circles over her clit.

And then she's falling once again, drawing him in deeper, tighter, even as her hips roll with abandon.

He watches her chest flush, her lips parting in silent prayer, an offering of thanks to whomever may be listening for the magic they've made. Yanking her closer, slamming home again, he can only let go of the coil in his belly to find his own peak.

He's lured back to awareness by the gentle stroke of her hands on his shoulders and down his back, the tease of her nails over the swell of his ass.

Lifting his head, Rick finds her mouth, taking a moment to paint her lips with his gratitude. They've always been good together, and even their fumbles fill him up with a joy he'd never truly known until being with her, but they keep getting better. They truly do.

"Wow."

She shakes with the force of her giggle, sucking in a deep breath when he can't control his groan. She knows what laughing does to him at times like this; how her body grips him and tries to coax him back to life for another round.

Though, after last night and this morning, it may take a little more than that. He slips from her body with a sigh, offering her thigh a gentle squeeze before he tugs a hand towel from the drawer and runs it under the faucet, returning to clean them both up with sure fingers.

"Thank you," she whispers once the towel has been rinsed and tossed in the direction of their bedroom, cupping his cheek in her palm, bringing him back to her for another kiss.

"For what?" he asks when they part, pushing a strand of sweaty hair away from her forehead.

She offers him a toothy grin, her eyes burning amber with joy at the tease that's to come.

"Refraining from humming Pomp and Circumstance this time around. Unlike last night."

"I'll show you Pomp and Circumstance," he mutters. His fingers trip down her sides, refusing to relent until the kitchen is alive with the sound of her shrieking laughter.

Later, long after she's found the hickeys on her neck and threatened to do bodily harm – but still practically mauled him the moment she saw him in his dinner clothes – he accepts the honor cords they now share from her hand and stuffs them into his pocket, turning to face some friend of her mom and dad's.

"We had a little mishap with Rick's," she explains, resting her cheek on Rick's shoulder. "Graduation cords meet cab door. It wasn't pretty."

He presses his lips together, his head bobbing in easy agreement. And she calls him the wordsmith in the relationship; from pretending to have no idea about his favorite con movies – and he has Jim Beckett to thank for spilling that secret – to this, she can spin quite the story when she wants to.

"We salvaged what we could," Rick chimes in, smoothing his palm down his girlfriend's back. His fingers tease beneath one of the cutouts in her dress, delighting in the energy he feels building beneath her skin. "They're tucked away at home. For safekeeping."

He feels Kate's lips twist against his shoulder.

Safekeeping, or the next time they're feeling adventurous.

Either story will do.

Other stories in this universe (in chronological order):

Late Night Study Break
Reference Material
TGIF
A Persuasive Argument
Make it So Easy
summa cum laude
Always Right

and more tagfics and drabbles, which can be found on my tumblr at bunysliper dot tumblr slash reference - material!