Hello..
In honour of Castle celebrating its 100th episode, I have set myself the task of writing a story that will celebrate 100 of the reasons that Castle loves Beckett. Each chapter will be a story to explain the reason - a little moment in their lives too beautiful to pass by without a literary mention - each following on chronologically from the last.

Disclaimer: Everything and everyone belongs to their rightful owners, I am just borrowing them for a little while.

One
You love me, too

The early evening in which they found themselves didn't hold the exceptionality that people so often speak of, the stars were not aligned and the world still spun quite ordinarily on its axis, but there was something so exquisite in the simple act of existing, of being a living, breathing part of that exact moment in time, that made Kate Beckett feel as if she had been travelling her entire life to reach it. The hazy sunshine and daisy scattered grass that flooded her senses with the dreamy longings of summer melded so effortlessly with the warmth of Castle beside her that the two seemed to exist as one; as if they had become unpinned from the real world and all that it held, free to drift through the remaining hours of their Saturday without a thought to anything but the pleasure of being together. Magical in a way that only lovers can truly know.

It had been a day of blissful nothingness, an unexpected break from the precinct after a gruesome case that had seemed endless in its dead-ends and brutal truths, Gates sending their team home late the night before with a tired smile and a weekend to do with as they pleased. Forty-eight hours that Castle and Beckett had promised not to waste, a rarely afforded luxury of knowing they could turn off their phones and think solely of themselves; of the wine they would sip and the kisses they would share. Time to be enjoyed, to be treasured, to be spent wrapped up in the wonders of a New York City summer.

Their morning had almost slipped into afternoon without realising, bodies and minds utterly exhausted, sunlight dancing through the cracks in the curtains as they had slept away the ache of the week.
At a little past eleven Castle had awoken, blinking away the fog that lay heavy on his eyes, lips pressed softly to Kate's forehead as he had excused himself from the familiar tangle of their limbs, returning soon after with freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon bagels for two.
"Mmm," Kate had sighed, messy haired and smiling sweetly, "good morning."
"It is now," he'd replied, only half joking as he had waited for her to sit comfortably against the headboard before passing over the steaming coffee mug and settling back under the ivory duvet that smelled so deliciously of perfume and midmorning air.

Once plates and mugs had been discarded on the bedside table, Kate had pushed away the blankets with a satisfied kick of her legs, turning to straddle Castle's thighs, fingers stretched out as if by instinct to trace the flutter of his eyelashes as laughter had bubbled just beneath her sultry tone. "Oh, Mr. Castle, whatever will we do with ourselves today?"
"Um, I don't know. We could read," smirked Castle in reply, eyes bright with mischief as his words had echoed those of their first morning together.
"We could watch TV," added Kate.
"Yeah, we could get something to eat."
"We could do that," she'd teased, hands a shock of cold as they had finally reached Castle's flushed cheeks and lips curved as they dared him to kiss them; an invitation that had been too enticing to ignore, a morning made especially for the tantalising feel of their bodies entwined.

Neither could quite remember how they had reached their decision to join the tourists and New Yorkers alike who had flooded the gates of Central Park in search of ice cream and swing sets, only that their hearts had thrummed with the desire to do so. That somewhere within their day they had stumbled upon the idea of a picnic in the park and had headed out without a second thought, hand-in-hand and stepped perfectly in time, their lazy hours of love unfurled perfectly behind them and the promise of every heated pathway so great that the entire City could so easily have been a dream.

They had fallen so effortlessly into the afternoon that it felt as if it had always belonged to them, a miracle so ordinary that it was able to seep into their bones and pulse within their blood. Proving that the simple things in life - homemade sandwiches and icy lemonade, running on bare feet like little kids until your legs can't carry you any further, tumbling into kisses as laughter falls from your lips - really are the sweetest things that you could ever have the pleasure of experiencing.

And now, as they lay stretched out amidst the remnants of their day, the ground cooling as the sun graced the world with its final rays and the strength of Castle's arms to hold her close, Kate could think only of the words that she had been holding safely in her heart for some time now. Once caged words that had seemed too big, too bold to ever be spoken aloud, but that now held the very hopes and dreams of her soul.

Turning in the circle of Castle's embrace, heartbeat quickened with unimaginable joy, Kate knew that this simple summer's day would mark the beginning of the life they had been destined to live together. Breath but a whisper and noses bumped together, she finally allowed every last brick of those twisted, tainted walls to fall from her mind and she spoke the words that would set them both free, "I love you."

"I love you, too," replied Castle, wanting to stay forever in that moment, but needing so desperately to kiss her, to make Kate feel his love as she had hers, to taste the words on her lips and remember them until the end of time. To remember them, always.

To be continued..

I hope that you enjoyed the first chapter, and I would love to know what you think of the idea as a whole?

Thank you for reading,
Katie xx

Twitter: katieupatree