Zinke's Reading Room

Title: Meet You on the Other Side
Author: Zinke
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: Rick Castle, Kate Beckett. Castle/Beckett.
Spoilers: Through the season four finale ‘Always’.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Just borrowing. No infringement intended.

Author’s Notes: Here it is; my obligatory contribution to the mass onslaught of post-Always fic out there. Nothing fancy, nothing grand. Just a little moment I couldn’t get out of my head.


* * * *

When Castle wakes, all signs of the storm that had rages the night before are gone. The loft is quiet, and a soft, pre-dawn light is filtering through the open window shades, casting a shadow across the empty space in the bed beside him. The pillow is smooth and cool to the touch, and if it weren't for the smell of her - of them - on his sheets, Castle would have believed last night to be a dream.

Instead, with his emotions still raw, his mind jumps to the obvious - if overly dramatic - conclusion. He's already out of bed and reaching for his robe when he hears it: a clink of ceramic against stone followed by the soft shuffle of bare feet over polished wood. Almost immediately, he is aware of other clues that his panic had caused him to overlook: her clothes, intermingled with his, blazing a trail from the door to the foot of his bed, the tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee coming from the kitchen.

The panicky ache in his chest immediately eases and, taking a deep breath he makes his way into the living room. He finds her sitting in a chair by the window. There is something heartbreakingly fragile about the tableau she presents: dwarfed by the t-shirt she's undoubtedly pilfered from his closet, sitting with her feet tucked under her and a cup of coffee cradled in her hands.

The steam from her cup rises to curl against the curve of her cheek as she gazes out at the slowly waking city below. There's a muted sadness in her expression that gives him pause, threatening to revive his earlier anxiety about her state of mind. Castle doesn't realize that she's turned to look at him until it's too late, her shy smile faltering when she catches sight of the worried frown he’s too preoccupied to hide.

"You don't mind—?" Kate asks, reaching down to self-consciously tug the hem of his shirt more fully over her hip.

"No, no," he immediately reassures. "Of course not. Mi casa es su casa."

She gives him a measuring look, then cants her head. "I made enough for two."

Castle is already turning towards the kitchen when the full meaning of her words finally sinks in. With a shake of his head, he stops, pivots, retraces his steps to take the mug from Kate’s hands and pull her to her feet. Without a word he kisses her, and feels some of the tension melt from his body as her lips move gently against his.

"This is going to take some getting used to," Castle murmurs, leaning in to rest his forehead against hers.

"Yeah."

"For a minute, when I first woke up I thought you might have--" He brushes off the thought with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be.” Kate pulls back to look him in the eye. “It's not as if I haven't given you reason."

She’s right, of course: it would be impossible to wipe away the emotional toll of the past few months in just one night. But saying so feels wrong somehow, so instead he smiles down at her and murmurs, "Doesn't matter. Not anymore."

"As easy as that?" she counters, her voice soft and expression a knowing one with which he is all too familiar.

"Maybe not,” he admits. “But soon.”

“And in the meantime?”

“In the meantime,” Castle threads his fingers through hers and grins. “Pancakes.”



*fin.*