Advent Again

November 30 - Ready to Start

He fumbles with his phone as it rings, shoves the bag of Chinese takeout under his arm as he answers.

"Kate?"

"Where are you, Castle?"

"Just getting home," he mutters, poking the call button to the elevator with his elbow. He tilts his neck back as he waits, side to side as it pops and cracks.

"Hm," she murmurs. "But you left before me."

"Yeah, I picked up some dinner. Too tired to think of something to cook, especially since it's just me tonight."

He hears her soft sigh on the other end and then the call drops. He glances at his phone, but yeah, she hung up. He didn't mean that as a sleight, he just meant she wasn't coming home with him so. . .

Yeah. Whatever.

He hasn't been able to figure her out lately. Things were going well, smoothly, a few fights of course, that big one about her mother's case at the end of spring, but when did they not fight? It's been better than ever since then. He thought.

Whatever. A night alone, Castle. Fine.

He steps on the elevator and pushes his floor button, then slides his phone back inside the pocket of his suit jacket. He's got a headache behind his eyes that pulses and the day has been bitterly cold. He's not ready for bitterly cold.

And Alexis never called. She said - but yeah, she's a college freshman and having fun and Kate told him to lay off.

He's trying.

Castle sighs as the elevator doors open and he strides off, down the hall towards his door, watching the keys in his hand as he sifts through them one at a time. He's forgotten what this new one looks like, was it-

"Castle."

He jerks to a stop and glances up to see Kate Beckett sitting on the floor outside his door, a smile of chagrin on her face, her eyes tender and a little uncertain on his.

"Kate. Why are you sitting on the floor?"

She's standing up now though, and beside her is a huge thing shrouded in a drop cloth and resting beside his door. He frowns and drops the bag of Chinese food next to it so he can wrap her in a quick embrace, the strong edges of her body against his. He kinda needs it. He's an idiot.

She hums, her fingers curl at his biceps before letting him go. "You change your locks again, Castle?"

He feels the heat climb his cheeks and he glances down at his key ring again. And there it is, the too-shiny silver key. The new one.

"Castle," she sighs, taking the keys from him and shoving the right one in the lock. "Second time this month."

"Third," he admits.

She turns back to him and the twist of pain - for him - in her eyes makes him sigh.

"Were you going to give me a copy?"

"Of course. I just did it the other day, and I couldn't find a good time." And he was - ashamed of it. "Forgot. I - I forgot."

She nudges open the door and gestures him inside his own home; as always, he has that flash of irrational panic before it slides away like it was never there.

Tyson is dead. Tyson is gone.

It's getting better.

She's got a grip on his elbow in compassion, and it's so close to pity that he switches the subject. "So what is that thing?" He nods to the huge dropcloth-covered thing.

Her mouth twitches into a half-smile but she also looks nervous as she stands in the doorway. "You got enough Chinese for both of us?"

He grins back. "Yeah. You coming in?"

She nods and gently pushes on his hip, nudging him inside, away from that tantalizing and monstrous thing outside his door. "I'll set this up, you get us plates and wine."

Set up?

Wait. What is today?

"Oh," he breathes out, turns startled eyes to hers. "Advent."

She grins this time, a soft and beautiful thing that makes him strong, makes him feel powerful and loved and special, because she's doing it for him. She wants to show him, just like he wanted to show her.

"Advent," she agrees. "And you almost ruined it by changing the locks on me, Castle."

He laughs at that, glad he can laugh, that she can too, and presses a kiss to her smiling mouth.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet."

He's so antsy. He can barely sit still.

She grins into her wine and sits back against the couch, watches Castle sneak little looks to the still-covered Advent calendar sitting on his dining room table. He's been less himself since Tyson, since she had to arrest him, and it's been hard for her to not see that broken, scared little boy in his face every time he stutters to a halt in his own living room.

But now.

This is so much better. They've needed this - some holiday magic. He gave it to her last year, and he completely - wow, he completely remade her and their relationship. So.

It's the least she can do. She just hopes it goes like she's planned.

As it is, he looks so excited. He inhaled his own dinner, and he's trying to wait patiently for her to finish her plate, but he keeps fidgeting, refills his wine, goes the long way around the couch to take quick looks at the cloth-draped calendar. He comes back with a paper towel to clean up the food he spilled and she takes pity on him.

"Okay, Castle," she sighs, rolling her eyes at him and standing up. She gestures for him to rise as well and he pops right up, grinning, his hands gripping her waist and a kiss landing hard on her mouth before he heads straight for his dining room table.

"Can I take the cloth off?"

"Sure. Have at it," she laughs.

He at least waits until she's beside him; he takes her hand in his and uses his left to whisk off the cover.

The tight grip of his fingers around hers lets her know; the sucked in breath, the stillness. She turns her head to look at him, absorbs the beautiful joy that radiates from him like sunbeams.

"It's the same one," he murmurs, tearing his eyes from it to look at her. "It's-"

"-ours." She lifts an eyebrow to give it emphasis, but presses her lips together to keep from being too heavy-handed with it. Day by day, Kate.

The beautiful Advent calendar he filled up for her last year is the same one she used for him, the flat canvas with it's three-dimensional row of apartment buildings in pale grey and white. Each numbered window opens and a gift rests in the hollowed out space behind.

She's never been so nervous over a Christmas gift in her life.

"I asked you," Castle says suddenly. "I asked you back in August-"

She grins and briefly presses her forehead into his shoulder. "Mm, I told you that you couldn't have it."

"I thought you'd - I don't know. I thought-"

"That I got rid of it?" she gasps, straightening up to look at him.

"No, no," he hurriedly assures her. "But I figured you obviously knew why I was asking, and that you didn't want me to do it this year. You didn't want the. . .fuss."

"I didn't want you to do it," she laughs, a silly giggle of relief somewhere in the back of her throat. She's got her shoes off, so she has to go up on tiptoe, but she kisses his cheek, moves to his mouth for a long moment, letting the heat build slowly, the stroke of his tongue like red velvet. When they pause, breaths close together, she opens her eyes to him.

"When do I get to open it?" he murmurs, his fingers skimming her cheek and tangling in her hair.

"Tomorrow, Castle." She shakes her head at him, drops back flat-footed. "You know how this works."

"I do. I know."

But he's excited. And she's so glad to see it again.

A/N: This is an Advent Calendar fic - which means every day a new chapter will be posted (the time of day will undoubtedly vary). Please check my tumblr (writingwell . tumblr . com) for links to songs and images associated with each day. Also, the playlist is currently available on my utube channel: chezchuckles.

Advent Again follows a year after the events of Advent (a story I posted last year). It's not entirely necessary to have read it, but it would probably be a good idea. Assume that all the cases and episodes we've seen in the intervening year have happened, but with the added relationship.

Happy Holidays to all the fans. This is my way of saying thank you for everything. Everything.