Catch a Glimpse of Sunlight

It's chilly and she shivers. The setting sun has been obscured by cloud, leaving her in shadow. But she's not moving. She's not leaving, however long it takes.

She's waiting for him as she once did for her.

She's not entirely sure what happened. They drifted like two moored boats, lilting together and apart, together and apart. Until eventually the last tendrils of fraying ropes that bound them to land broke with little force, and they drifted their separate ways.

She thinks perhaps the discussion of divorce should have been enough to shock them into action. Or even when the papers were drawn up and the writing was stark against the crisp solicitors' parchment, the fate of their marriage becoming unavoidable.

But they continued along their separate paths, dazed perhaps, but still resolute on leaving each other for good.

She's not sure what jostled her into both literal and metaphorical awakening this morning. The first thing she saw when she awoke was the empty half of the bed and for some reason she had been so sure she would see Castle beside her.

They haven't slept in the same bed for three months.

The pang in her chest was immediate and unavoidable; no longer could she carry on in avoidance and closing her eyes to her every emotion. The tears were hot and real and for the first time in months she allowed herself to feel. The pain, yes. But also the love she felt for Castle.

The love she still feels for Castle.

So here she is, shivering on the roof of his building, her phone clenched in her hand. A simple text message sent an hour ago.

Meet me. Please.

Her thumb hovers over the play button of the iPod dock at her side. It twitches with each noise. But so far all have been false alarms.

She checks again, compulsively, her phone. But the home screen is devoid of new messages.

Then the door to the roof scrapes. And he's here, finally.

Her thumb twitches again but with more conviction this time and the all too familiar notes of the song fill the late summer air between them. Their song. It provides a link between the two people standing on either end of the rooftop, or at least she hopes it does. So far he is silent and unmoving, his mouth slightly ajar as he takes in her attire.

She had worried it was too much, debated back and forth over how she should present herself. Until eventually she decided that if he needs a shock too, this might just do the trick. So nearly three years after she first wore it, she stands in her wedding outfit.

Eventually he advances towards her, his eyes raking her form, shock still on his features. "What?" he eventually utters, the word quiet in its confusion.

She closes the distance between them, takes a steadying breath then grasps one of his hands, gripping it between both of her own. His digits are limp in hers but that's okay; she expected this.

For now, it's okay.

"Castle, I woke up this morning and expected to see you beside me but you weren't." Tears fill her eyes unbidden and she lets them. She's done hiding from her emotions, pretending the breakdown of the most beautiful relationship she's ever been a part of doesn't hurt. "You weren't there. And I realised I don't want to face the rest of my life without you beside me."

"We're getting a divorce, Kate. We agreed." The words are gentle and perhaps that's part of the problem. There was no defining argument which triggered their parting, only silences which lengthened until there seemed little point in being together.

"But we don't have to." She squeezes his hand tighter. "Why did our marriage fail?"

There's a moment of silence in which pain eventually flickers over his features. "We drifted apart."

"But why? Maybe we stopped trying. Maybe we took each other for granted. But we're still the same people we were when we married." She gestures to her white clothes. "We've gained a few years life experience but neither of us has changed. There's no reason we can't love each other still."

Silence again.

They stare at each other. Kate lets the tears roll freely down her cheeks, and Rick's features contort into intense discomfort. He tries to pull away but she holds tighter, a little desperation now in her actions.

"Rick, I still love you…" She forces herself to keep her gaze stoically on his. "I'm not asking for a response in kind. Only… Can we give us another try?"

There's silence again. The clouds shift slightly and a glint of pink light reflects off a building onto the near broken couple.

Rick still shows discomfort and he shifts again only towards her this time. His hands are fumbling and uncoordinated, pressing against her shoulder blade and waist with a little too much force. But it's okay. At that moment, it's more than okay.

"I'll tear up the papers."

The song has long ended but that's okay. They can dance a new dance. So long as they're together, it's okay.

Fin

A/N: Written to fill the following anonymous prompt on Castlefanficprompts on Tumblr -

'Beckett one night texts Castle to come up to the roof top when he gets their she's dressed up in her wedding dress and has their song playing. He tells her his ripping up their divorce papers first then tomorrow and they make love all night also'

Apologies Anon for not fulfilling the last part of your prompt - I couldn't make it fit with the tone of the fic. I kind of started writing and this is what happened.

Also, I borrowed the title of the fic, from one of the lines in Andrew Belle's In my Veins.

Thank you for reading lovely people! :-)