Castle 1. Chapter 1

This starts in season 4, during "Demons." Multi chapter, but not too long, maybe five. Big chunks of dialogue from the show used in this intro. This is so much fluff it's practically rotting my teeth, so I had to get it out.

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Castle has the upper hand for once.

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**Two Can Play**

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When Castle came over that night Beckett was already feeling unusually loose. A warm bath and a few glasses of wine and the way her mind kept wandering to the deeply affectionate amusement Castle had been pulling from her while they were working this ghost case, an affection she was more and more willing to revel in instead of constantly denying, had left her feeling more relaxed than she had all year.

_Apparition American_, she thought, grinning widely before taking another sip of wine. It was a Pinot she'd only just discovered, and it had a way of making her giddy with delight, especially the Castle induced variety. While she was alone in her own apartment she didn't need to press her lips together to hide her amusement at his playful turn of phrase. And his theories. And his ghost house murder mystery board. And the way he'd bought her two coffees, even if he'd managed to drink them both himself before she arrived.

She sighed and rolled her eyes at herself as she sank down onto her couch, still smiling while she twisted her mostly dried hair into a loose braid. Allowing herself the luxury of fantasizing, she rested her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes, revisiting the way Castle had looked today, the low timber of his voice while he was explaining his theory with wide eyes and gesticulating hands. She was just imagining what it might feel like to have those hands trailing down her arms or tugging lightly at her hair, the tip of her tongue caught between her teeth, when there was a loud knock at her door.

"Laird's Lug!" Castle said triumphantly when she opened the door.

Beckett wrapped her shrug more tightly around herself as she followed him into her apartment, as if that could prevent him from seeing the flush she was feeling, the combination of the wine and the fantasy and his unexpected presence. He was still talking about Scotland and hidden passages, so she leaned her head forward and really tried to listen. Really she did. But try as she might, she found herself wondering more about whether or not his plaid shirt was as soft to the touch as she imagined than whether or not the Maclaren house had a hidden alcove.

"It explains everything," Castle declared, his chest puffed out with pride.

He carried on with the story, but again her mind was still wandering, her relaxed muscles and the wine fogging her senses leading her down potentially dangerous paths. She was imagining the tickle of the brush of his lips at her ear and the way his voice would vibrate if he were whispering his story to her instead of standing across the room when she realized he'd stopped speaking.

"We'll go first thing in the morning, see what we come up with," she agreed, remaining purposefully vague to cover the fact that she'd only been half-listening. The details of his story remained elusive.

Castle paused, mouth half open as if to speak, and shifted his weight.

"You want to go now?" she asked.

"Well, unless, of course, you're afraid," he challenged, his expression so smug she could kiss it off of him.

"Yeah right," she huffed. Please. Afraid? No way.

"No I get it, it is a haunted house."

"I'm not scared, Castle," she fired back.

"No, no you're right," he consented, "the demon has tasted fresh blood, his thirst may not be slaked with just one victim."

"Ok..."

"If you're not scared just say it," he pushed.

"No." The answer was firm despite the pull of a smile at her lips.

"Come on, you know you want to," he argued.

"I don't want to say it Castle."

"For me, please."

It was the please that did her in, and the knowledge that this silly conversation and a night spent poking around the potentially haunted house would make him so happy. She complied with a barely suppressed grin. "I aint afraid of no ghosts."

She gave in, and was ready to go to the Maclaren house with him, but when she rose to head toward the door she felt the heaviness of the wine bend her balance enough that she had to press her hand to his shoulder to steady herself and prevent knocking in to him completely.

"Woah," he said, catching her hand and helping her regain her balance.

Beckett laughed lightly, averting her eyes while a little more red seeping into the blush of her cheeks. "Oh, Castle, we really can't go tonight."

He furrowed his brow at her, glanced at the hand still lightly gripping his shoulder, and dramatically pointed to the half empty bottle of wine on the counter. "Beckett," he cried, "you're drunk!"

"I'm not drunk, Castle," she argued, rolling her eyes. "But I'm also not fit to be brandishing my weapon." When he raised his eyebrows as if to say _Isn't that the same thing_? she headed him off by turning the hand still in his grasp, catching his wrist between her fingers, and brazenly pulling him back toward the kitchen. "Besides, wouldn't you rather stay here and have a drink?"

She tossed him a look that was both a challenge and an invitation. Castle was so quick to agree that his answers all fell over each other. "Yes... tomorrow... of course... can wait... would rather... what are you drinking?"

Her warm laughter was his only answer, and she pressed the mostly full glass she'd been drinking from into his hands, meeting his eyes with a new kind of intention in her own, her fingers lingering purposefully against his. While Castle contemplated the fact that her lips had _just _been touching this glass, she poured a second helping for herself. Shrugging out of her wrap, _when had it gotten so warm in here anyway_, she slid back onto a stool and gestured to the closest one for him, hooking her toe around it to draw it a bit closer before he sat.

"So, do you like it?" she asked, still smiling at him like she had some kind of a secret.

"Yeah," Castle answered, nodding, looking intently at her. He realized too late that she meant the wine, and hurriedly took a sip. "It's great."

She hummed. "It's a new favorite." She was speaking softly, glancing up at him through lowered lashes as she drank again.

"New is good," he said, feeling a little dopey with the change of pace. Beckett had never looked at him so openly, had never sat so closely to him without a reason, had never invited him to drinks in her apartment. New is _really _good, he thought. He smiled and leaned forward, resting one elbow on the counter and letting the opposite hand dangle dangerously close to where her knees were almost brushing his.

"Tell me more about your theory," she said when the silence had gone on a little too long.

"Let's not talk about the case," he replied absently, too caught up in the way his rebel fingers were brushing against the warm fabric at her knees to remember the theories that had seemed so important just minutes ago.

Beckett murmured something he didn't quite catch and shifted, moving one foot to rest on the bars of his stool, and his hand slid naturally around to the back of her knee. He squeezed lightly, his fingers dipping into the muscled calf, and she sighed. It wasn't until she caught his free hand in hers, linking their fingers on the countertop, that he looked back up at her. He caught his breath at the raw want in her dark eyes, the way she had caught the smile of her bottom lip between her teeth, and the subtle way her knee shifted more fully into his palm.

Beckett wanted him.

She didn't just want him in some vague _when I'm ready way _and not in a _when my walls come down _way, she wanted him here, and now. From where he was sitting, he couldn't see any walls at all. For the first time in their entire relationship, Castle felt with utter certainty that he was not alone in his desires. So he finally allowed himself to act on them.

He used the hand at her knee to tug her a little closer and half stood so she wouldn't fall off of her stool. He released his hold and slid his hand around her waist, squeezing where the fingers of their other hands were still entwined, and he kissed her.

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Oh. _Oh_, Castle was kissing her, and he wasn't holding back. His lips were sliding warmly against hers, the hand at her waist was somehow beneath her shirt and the fingers were pressing lightly into her skin caused her to arch her back sharply until she was holding on to his hand to keep the dizzying sensation in check. Beckett parted her lips at the first touch of his tongue and gave herself over to him, allowing herself to revel in finally knowing the feel of him like this.

She sucked in a breath when he nipped at her lower lip and laughed quietly when he did it again with a grin. The laugh became a moan when he kissed her fully once more, slicking his tongue heavily against hers. Then suddenly, he was pulling back. He removed his hand from under her shirt, tugging it back into place as he went, kissed her lips lightly one more time, and then moved away toward the door.

"Castle?" She asked dazedly, the fingers of one hand pressed against her swollen lips. He grinned, and when he answered his voice was delicious with roughness and want.

"Until tomorrow, Kate. And I promise I won't drink your coffee this time," he said. "Sweet dreams." And then he was gone.

Beckett blinked.

Wait. What?

What just happened?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

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The next day, Beckett didn't realize until she was passing her hall mirror on the way out the door that she had dressed for Castle. Instead of the flowing button downs she had been wearing lately, she picked one that fit a little closer. In fact, it used to be too small but she still hadn't regained the weight she lost with her shooting, so now it fit like a glove. And she slipped on a pair of jeans, not as tight fitting as they used to be, but still snug enough to show off her figure. She hadn't meant to dress for him, it was entirely unconscious.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she ran a hand self-consciously over the prominent ladder of her ribs, and the point of her hip. She shrugged to herself. Castle certainly hadn't seemed to mind last night, and his hands had been _all over her_. She grinned a little to herself as she smeared on a slightly darker lip gloss than usual. Then she frowned. She still didn't know why he had stopped. She never expected that he might stop once they started, and she couldn't really put her finger on his expression when he left. The best she could come up with is that he hadn't wanted to push her too hard. She grimaced at her own reflection, rolled her shoulders back, and headed out the door.

At the precinct Beckett was nervous, like some kind of virginal teenager. Her fingers were curled into the hem of her shirt and there were actual butterflies frolicking in her belly and she was grinning like an idiot on the elevator, garnering more than a few amused looks. She was giddy with the thought of seeing Castle, and more than a little anxious to show him that he didn't have to handle her with care. She would do whatever she needed to do to show him that she was ready for this. For them.

She saw her coffee before she saw him, and bit her lip hard to keep from beaming down at the cardboard cup. Fingers trailing around the perimeter of the lid, she looked around for Castle. When she saw him, her breath stuttered, and the feeling in her belly became less about nerves and more about want. He was standing near the break room, in jeans and a leather jacket, casually leaning against the wall and watching her with dark eyes and a smirk on his lips. He looked good. Really good. She smiled at him breathlessly, and half raised her hand in greeting.

"Hey, Castle." The usual words, but her voice was too welcoming and too eager for the precinct. Beckett was pretty sure she didn't care.

"Detective," Castle greeted her, still smirking.

When he pushed off the wall to saunter over toward her, it took everything Beckett had to stay still and not drop weak kneed into her chair. He was practically prowling, and he only had eyes for her. She swallowed noisily, eyebrows raised in wonder when he stepped close, trailing a hand over her hip and using the closeness of his body to hide the motion from the rest of the precinct. In the same moment he leaned a little closer, his breath puffing across her ear when he whispered, "You look nice."

She barely had time to shiver and he was stepping back and handing her the coffee she had already forgotten about. "Thanks," she said dumbly, watching his fingers drag a path up her wrist before he stepped completely away. He dropped into his chair and grinned knowingly up at her.

"So what's on for today?" he asked, the perfect picture of innocence.

The whole day was like that. One minute he was just Castle, fist bumping the boys and spouting completely ridiculous theory and then Beckett would blink and he was giving her the kind of look that made her blush and lick her lips. Or his fingers were pressing briefly into the skin at her wrist when he handed her a file, or the warm weight of his hand was pressed intimately against her lower back, or he was whispering something into her ear that was just completely _inappropriate for the workplace_.

By the end of the day she was on fire, twisting uncomfortably in her seat, and thinking about how now she knew what it felt like to be pursued by Richard Castle. How now she knew that the time she'd spent choosing her outfit this morning hadn't gone to waste. How he liked the way her shirt fit and how the jeans showed off the curve of her ass. She even knew how his fingers felt when they were sneaking surreptitiously beneath the barrier of her shirt to tease against her waist while she was trying to focus on whatever it was that Ryan was saying about the evidence.

_Screw the evidence_, she thought, flipping the file on her desk closed. She couldn't focus on it, anyway. She stretched and popped knuckles of both hands. _Where's Castle_?

She didn't see him in the nearly empty bullpen. She hadn't seen him since she'd gone into the restroom to splash some cold water on her face, _again_, and now she felt a sinking disappointment that he might have left without saying goodbye. Today of all days, she'd wanted to tell him goodbye. Preferably with her mouth. She sighed at the thought, and drifted aimlessly toward the break room and the ever present call of the coffee. The building felt empty without Castle, and she knew the coffee wouldn't taste nearly as good.

She was grudgingly filling the machine with water when she heard the voice she'd been missing.

"There you are."

Kate turned to grin at him over her shoulder. "Hey."

She turned back to her task so he wouldn't see the relief bubbling out of her at his presence. It was almost overwhelming. She wasn't surprised when she heard the break room door close, and the sound of his feet bringing him close behind her, but the thrill of his hands settling warmly at her hips still had her closing her eyes in blissful contentment. She bit her lip when he pressed a chaste but lingering kiss to the place behind her ear, nuzzling into her.

"You know I could make you some of the good stuff," he murmured.

"I thought you'd left. Figured this was better than nothing."

Castle laughed and nipped at the cartilage of her ear. "You really thought I'd leave, _today_, without saying goodbye?"

"Well," she smiled, "I hoped not."

"You hoped correctly." He rested his chin on her shoulder and slid his palms around from her hips to her lower abdomen, playing with the buckle of her belt and causing Beckett to arch her back and sink further into his hold.

"Castle, we can't keep doing this here." Despite her words, she covered his hands with her own to keep him there against her, to keep his arms wrapped around her for a little while longer.

"Precinct's basically empty, Kate," he whispered between soft kisses to her neck.

"Mmm," she agreed. "But not completely."

"You're right," he agreed, and touched his tongue to the shell of her ear.

She laughed and spun around in his arms, leaning back so he couldn't keep convincing her with his mouth. She grinned even as she struggled to give him a disapproving glare, and then smiled some more when she realized she couldn't fight it.

"You're beautiful when you smile like that," Castle said, then he laughed. "I mean you're always beautiful. But the smile is nice. It adds something. Oh God, that's so cliché."

He was rolling his eyes at himself, but she shook her head against his self deprecation and tapped her fingers against his chest. "You make me smile, Castle."

He leaned in and kissed her then, prying eyes be damned. It was sweet, and soft, and grateful. When he pulled away, he shrugged and gestured to an officer passing on the other side of the glass. "Sorry." But the brightness of his eyes betrayed his lack of regret.

"I'm not." She kissed him again, briefly, and linked her hands behind his neck, stroking at the short hairs there. "Castle?"

"Hmm?"

"Come back to my place tonight?"

His weight shifted subtly into her, his fingers curling at her back. "I can't tonight," he sighed.

"Oh," she said, averting her eyes to hide the depth of her disappointment.

"Oh, I know!" he said with a sudden and renewed energy. "Beckett?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go out with me on Friday?"

Beckett jerked back and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Friday? You want to wait until Friday?"

"It's date night, Beckett!"

"But it's only Monday," she protested softly.

But Castle was already swept up in his own plans, moving around the break room and gesturing as he plotted aloud. "Oh I know a great place, and I'm pretty sure I still know the chef, and I'll get us the best table, Beckett, a night time view of the city. Oh! And after that we can..."

He continued to speak, pulling out his phone to begin making arrangements, and Beckett forced a wry smile around her disappointment. She tuned out a little, sinking into one of the hard chairs and watching him with her head resting on one hand, only catching words like _romantic_, _vista_, and _carriage ride_, so she almost missed it when he was saying his goodbye.

"Kate, it's going to be great, the best date night ever! But I've got to go now, so I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" He leaned down and pressed a hot, open mouthed kiss to her lips that promised to leave her aching for the rest of the night, and left.

She was stunned, and alone, and hot and bothered for the second time in as many days. He had spent the whole day working her up just to leave? She sighed. She'd never thought Castle would be the type to want to take things slow. _Actually_, she thought, _he definitely isn't that type_. She'd watched him pursue more than a few women in their days together, and he was pretty much the jump right in type. So why was he doing this now?

He'd spent the whole day working on her, teasing her, and then he pulled away right when she was practically begging...

She gasped. _Oh_! That _son of a b_...

He was playing hard to get. Rick Castle thought he had her wrapped completely around his finger and now he was playing with her. She stood up abruptly, and laughed to herself as she poured a cup of coffee.

Oh, silly man.

Two can play at that game.

And she was going to win.

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A/N: I had the chronology of season 4 wrong in my head when I wrote this, so for the rest of this piece let's pretend that Cops and Robbers comes after Kill Shot and Cuffed. Thanks for reading! Every review/ fav/ follow makes my day! :)

This is 90 percent written, just cleaning it up. Should have a new chapter on Friday.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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**Tuesday**

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Beckett was ready. She had stopped at a little stationary store on the way in to the precinct, picking up a stack of multi-colored post-its so that she could carry out her plan without everything she wrote today having the 12th Precinct header on it. That wasn't exactly the kind of sexy she was going for. Today, everything she did was going to be sexy, and every time she caught him staring she was going to have to work not to laugh in his face.

As an added bonus, she bought herself a cup of coffee. So when Castle arrived a few minutes after her, happily providing her daily offering, she merely held up her half empty cup, and shrugged.

"Sorry, couldn't wait."

Castle wilted so visibly that Beckett felt a quick, ridiculous tug of regret for her impromptu purchase. Castle might be an often silly man, and she needed to put him in his place a little, but he took his self proclaimed job as the keeper of her caffeine very seriously. He sat awkwardly, juggling both of their cups of coffee, until Beckett took some pity on him.

"This is almost gone, though," she said, hastily gulping down most of what remained in her cup. Castle brightened immediately, and set her replacement cup next to the one she was finishing off.

As she felt the caffeine begin to buzz in her fingertips and twitch in the muscle of her eyebrows, Beckett pretended to look over some paperwork while she gathered her courage. The coffee play seemed to have knocked the wind out of Castle's sails. _Serves him right_, she thought, but it meant that she would have to make the first move today. She already had, actually, scribbling a quick note onto a post-it right as he was stepping off the elevator. She just had to give it to him. She took in a deep breath, and...

"Yo, Beckett!" It was Esposito, calling from across the bullpen. "Suspect's in interrogation one!"

"Good work, Espo," she called, and glanced at Castle with her lip between her teeth. Now or never, Beckett. They stood together, but she caught his wrist and stepped close before he could head toward Esposito.

"Castle, wait," she murmured, and brushed her hands over the lapels of his jacket, standing close enough to practically feel the temperature rise between them. "You have some crumbs, here, let me." She smoothed her hands over his chest once more, meeting his soft gaze this time, before tapping pointedly at his chest.

"Crumbs?" he asked incredulously, glancing down as she stepped away. "But I haven't even had- oh."

Beckett hid her grin and pulled on her detective face as she walked toward her suspect, but she heard him when he peeled the note off of his jacket, and then heard his muttered response when he read it.

"Jesus."

_I can't stop thinking about your hands._

She glanced over her shoulder in time to see him tuck the note into her desk drawer, smiling. "You coming, Castle?"

He nodded vigorously. She let him catch up to her right as they headed into the box, and she pressed the second note into his palm as they sat down across the table from their suspect.

_And your tongue._

Castle spent the entire forty-five minute interrogation staring at her, lips slightly parted, eyes dark. As officers were leading out their suspect, the kid, some punk from Jersey who thought he could play the law, asked, "What is he, slow, or something?"

She ignored the comment, but caught the first movement from her partner in a long while. He scribbled something onto a scrap of paper, but it wasn't until later, sitting back at her desk, that he slid it over to her.

_I can do slow and gentle if that's what you want._

She grinned. He smiled, and covered her hand with his own, his fingers warm and inviting. She hesitated, and then leaned in and murmured throatily, softly, just for his ears. "What if I don't want gentle?" His eyebrows climbed toward his forehead and the smile on his face broadened. They stared dopily at each other for far too long, until the sound of Ryan awkwardly clearing his throat brought them out of their haze.

"Uh, Beckett, sorry to interrupt..." He glanced nervously from one to the other, like a kid anxiously interrupting adults in conversation. Beckett leaned back and smiled easily at him.

"That's alright, Ryan. What's up?"

The rest of the day was a flurry of intimate glances, soft, secretive touches, and notes pressed into palms, slid into case files, and stuck to coffee cups. At closing time Kate walked him to his car, bumping shoulders and elbows, smiling behind the curtain of her hair the whole way. Castle kept up an easy flow of conversation about their day, speaking softly into her hair, and finally touching his palm to the small of her back as they slowed.

She felt suddenly shy, and that was a new thing for her. She smiled at him, but found her eyes focusing somewhere over his shoulder even as he backed her gently against the side of his car.

"Kate?" His voice was a rumble, his nose brushing hers, his hair falling forward to tickle her forehead. He waited until she met his eyes before he kissed her, long and slow. His arms wrapped around her back and held her tightly against him while he took his time exploring her mouth.

When he pulled away, he whispered conspiratorially, "Today was really hot."

A relief she hadn't known she was missing flooded through her. "So, uh, you liked it?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, of course! You are super hot with your super hot notes and it was amazing!"

She laughed and let him kiss her again, then he was pulling away and talking about Alexis and Martha and how he had to get home to some family event. He was already gone before Beckett realized that he'd done it again; kissed her silly and left her wanting, and maybe playing hard to get is harder than she realized.

"Damn it," she muttered to the vacant garage. But she strolled toward her cruiser with a silly smile on her face.

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**Wednesday**

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On Wednesday their notes quickly escalated from silly and intimate to dirty and hot and _oh God, Castle, don't let Gates see that! _The unspoken competition between them exploded into some kind of obscene challenge, until Beckett was flush from head to toe and chewing on her lip and crossing her legs and trying to get some kind of control of herself, and trying not to imagine the thing he had just described doing with his fingers. Until she thought of more things she could write to him, and she stopped trying to keep it together.

When he found the note she'd slipped into his pocket about exactly what she could do if her hand was there instead of a little slip of paper, Castle pulled her roughly into the closest stairwell and gave up a little, _a lot_, of his hard earned control. While his hands were digging into her ass and his teeth were biting at the sensitive spot where her shoulder met her neck, Beckett was working hard to keep from grinning victoriously. Finally, she was pushing him beyond his limit, and it felt really good. Really, really good. Almost as good as the way he was sucking her earlobe into his mouth. The grin fell away when he rolled his hips hard into hers and they both gasped, the sound reverberating harshly through the empty stairwell.

_I guess he likes the lace, _she thought hazily when he rolled his tongue over the edge of her bra exposed by the indecently low-cut top she was wearing today. It's a good thing it paid off, too, because the way Ryan had been staring at her chest that morning was beginning to creep her out. Esposito had looked like he knew exactly what she was up to, pursing his lips and looking sideways at Castle. The idea made her squirm uncomfortably, and her head cleared enough that she remembered what the point of all this was.

"Castle," she groaned, unable to stop from pressing against him even as she grabbed a hold of his ears to pull his face away from her. "Castle, slow down."

"What?" He spoke the word into her collarbone, breathing harshly.

"I, we," Beckett closed her eyes and wrapped her mind around what she was trying to say. It was so difficult when his lips were still pressed against her neck. "We need to slow down. Not do this here."

"Right."

He moved to kiss her again, but she slipped out from where he'd been holding her against the wall, and gestured for him to follow as she headed back to work. He looked dazed and surprised and deliciously rumpled and frustrated.

Score one for Beckett.

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**Thursday**

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Castle arrived late to the precinct on Thursday, not showing up until after lunch. And seriously_, Castle, a heads up would have been nice_, because she had been waiting for him all day and she hadn't had any coffee at all. And she had written a few things for him that were now just stacked in a sad little unrequited pile near her elephants. And her very-nearly-see-through top hadn't really been doing her any favors without Castle there to see it. She had, in fact, had to throw on a jacket when she caught Gates sending her a disapproving frown. When he did finally saunter in, she glared at him. This was all his fault.

Castle stopped halfway to her desk and looked slowly over his shoulder, hoping someone else might be the cause of her unrest. Seeing no one, he looked back to her in confusion. He approached her cautiously, and frowned at the way her pen was stabbing into the form she was filling out.

"Everything ok, Beckett?"

"You're late," she growled.

"I told you I had a meeting this morning." When she dug her pen more viciously into her paperwork, he backpedaled. "Or... didn't I?"

"No."

"Sorry." He paused. "Are you feeling ok?"

She jerked back in her chair to direct her glowering more fully at him. Frustrated. She was feeling frustrated, and it was all his fault. "Castle, if you're going to say that I'm acting _hormonal _or _bitchy _I swear to God I-"

"No!" he interjected hastily, hands held up in a gesture of surrender. "No. You're just...uh... not yourself. And you're wearing a jacket when it's kind of warm in here, and I thought you might-"

She interrupted him with a sound of disgust, stood, and dragged him into the empty conference room. Once inside, she spun him around and kissed him, hard, rolling her body against him in a futile effort to relieve some of the incredible tension she was feeling. Then she pushed away from him in aggravation, stomping away while he stood stunned by the door. When she pulled off her jacket she could practically hear his heart accelerate. "It's your fault."

"What is?"

"This is why I'm wearing a jacket, Castle," she said finally, huffing out a harsh and unhappy breath.

"Well," he gulped, eyes darting, not sure if he was allowed to be staring at her chest right now, "I don't... how is that my fault?"

As soon as he said the words, Beckett could feel the air thicken, and the unreasonable anger she'd been directing toward him melted away. In it's wake was only the sweet, dense need and the ache of frustration. Oh, he was winning this game. It wasn't even close anymore.

She deflated, and looked at him more softly. "I'm sorry, Castle. I'm- maybe I'm just tired."

"I'm sorry I didn't mention I wasn't coming in this morning."

She laughed a little then, shooting him an embarrassed look. "Imagine telling me three years ago that I'd be mad you didn't show up at the precinct?"

He grinned. "We've come a long way." Still moving cautiously, he closed the gap between them, hesitantly reaching out to stroke the knuckles of one hand down her arm. "We've come a lot of that way in just the last few days."

Beckett nodded, and allowed him to pull her into a hug without offering any resistance. It felt so nice to be held by him after spending so much time denying herself the pleasure. Absently, she used the proximity to slip a note she had written earlier into the inside pocket of his jacket, wondering how long it might be until he found it. Wondering if it might me weeks or even months. The thought made her smile.

"Kate, if this is all too much all at once, we can take a step back-"

"No." She spoke softly but firmly. "I was just being a little unreasonable today. Not enough coffee."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

"I can totally fix the coffee problem."

And he did. They sat together in the break room while they sipped their drinks, Beckett's leg pressed sweetly against his under the table, the fingers of their free hands interlaced on the tabletop. Before long, Beckett couldn't even feel the lingering traces of her bad mood. She smiled sweetly at him, grateful for his presence.

"What was your meeting about?" Beckett asked.

"Actually," Castle said, "I really need to write tomorrow. I haven't had much time lately, and Black Pawn is getting antsy for more _Heat_."

_As am I_, Beckett thought wryly. _How ironic. Nikki Heat's alter ego can't get any..._

"So..."

For the length of the time it took him to stand and rinse out their mugs, Beckett thought he might be preparing to cancel date night, _that would be taking this hard-to-get thing way to far_, and it was a bitter tasting thing. Then he glanced around to see if anyone was watching, gave her a look that seemed to have more to do with sincere anticipation than aggressive flirting, and slid his fingers gently into her hair.

"I'll pick you up at seven."

Beckett nodded her assent and leaned subtly into his fingers, sighing when his thumb brushed across her temple. She pressed her lips to his palm in a quick kiss. Castle's capacity for sweetness still had a way of surprising her. Castle leaned a little closer, and her eyes flicked to his lips before looking back up to meet his gaze.

"And Kate?"

Was he going to kiss her out here in the relatively open space of the break room? Did she care if he did?

"Wear something like you put on the purple and pink post-it, and I'll see what I can do."

She managed to sit still and wait until his leering face disappeared behind the closing elevator doors before flying to her desk to yank open the drawer and scramble through three days worth of dirty, sexy, (love?) notes.

When she found the one she was looking for, she sucked in a breath and leaned back in her chair, one hand pressing absently against the hot flush in her cheeks. Oh, that's a good one.

_Can you undo my garter with your teeth?_

_._

_._

_._

A/N: Thanks for reading. :) Mistakes are my own. I'm out of town starting tomorrow, so next update probably won't be until Wednesday.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

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"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late," Beckett muttered to the empty hallway as she flew off of the elevator and hurtled toward her apartment. She started stripping off her jacket as she fell through the doorway, flicking on a light with her elbow while awkwardly juggling her purse and keys until she got her arms free. She hopped toward her bedroom as she yanked her boots off her feet and gave a despairing glance toward the wall clock.

6:49.

She'd had this all planned out. She _told _Espo and Ryan that she absolutely had to leave by 5:30, but one lead leads to another and here she was without time to do anything. Trying to take off her pants and still keep rocketing around the room led to Beckett staring up at her ceiling from the floor, pants tangled around her ankles. With a loud groan of frustration she pulled them off and wrenched open her closet. She didn't know what to wear.

6:53.

She didn't have time to squander, so she pulled free the closest little black dress she saw, deemed it good enough and slipped it on. _Ah, not a bad choice_, she thought as she tugged at the hem to make sure it was in place. _Castle likes lace_. She grabbed a shrug to cover her bare arms if it got cold, then slipped into the bathroom. She pulled the clip out of her hair from where it had been pulled back all day. It bounced down around her shoulders in gentle waves; not as fancy as she would have liked to do, but good enough. She brushed her teeth, dabbed on a little lipstick, a little dark eye shadow and mascara, and was slipping in some dangly earrings with slightly trembling hands when there was a knock at the door.

6:57.

Damn that man and his punctuality. She spritzed some perfume on and took a step back to regard her image in the mirror. Not bad, considering. Now that she was ready, she allowed herself a moment to grin in anticipation, giggling at the way her reflection looked so absolutely smitten. Grabbing a favorite pair of heels, she walked barefoot to the door, and took a deep breath. Beckett closed her eyes for a second to quell the nervous anticipation growing in her belly. _It's just Castle. Just Castle_. She chuckled. _Right_.

She swung the door open with flourish, and her breath caught somewhere between her diaphragm and her throat. Castle was grinning down at her, freshly laundered, his hair slicked back, and a bouquet of mixed roses in his hands. "Hey, Castle," she said breathlessly. "Come in."

He did, brushing closely past her to stand in her foyer. "These are for you." When she took the flowers from him Beckett felt a surprising flush in her cheeks. Castle had a way of disarming her without even trying. She smiled shy thanks at him, and found a vase, sniffing deeply from the flowers after she arranged them.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Pretty."

"I agree," Castle said, waggling his eyebrows at her suggestively until she laughed. He stepped close to her and touched her chin lightly to tilt her head up. Beckett sometimes forgot what a tall man Castle was-she'd been wearing progressively taller heels since she'd met him to counteract his height-and the feeling of him towering over her was oddly enticing. When he kissed her it was soft and slow but purposeful, and Beckett could feel her heartbeat fluttering in her throat. He pulled away slowly, with dark eyes and a warm hand trailing across her exposed collarbone and down her arm.

"You look beautiful, Kate."

Simple words, and hardly the first time a man had said them to her, but she felt herself responding. On the one hand, _Yes, please, Castle, tell me nice things all night_. But Castle managing to make her melt before they'd even left her apartment meant she was going to have to work really, really hard to come out on top tonight.

Because of course she had a plan. And that plan involved putting him off for another night-but not for too much longer, because _seriously I want him_\- and it only worked if she was actually able to control her own desires tonight.

So she took a deep breath and stepped away, creating just enough space between them to regain control of herself. She grinned at him, holding on to his shoulder to slip on her heels, and said, "You're not so bad yourself, Castle."

He tilted his head at her, eyes crinkling in pride and affection, and offered his arm. "Shall we?"

.

...

.

They were nestled together in a small wrap around booth, their meal finished, sharing the last glass of wine from their second bottle. It was dark, the lights of the room centered on the jazz band on stage, and the low vocals of the singer were mingling with the alcohol and Castle's cologne and Beckett couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so happy. Or the last time she had felt so thoroughly seduced.

The night had been a blur of shared shellfish and wine and music, the seductive heat of brushing lips and fingertips and thighs pressed together, and a building arousal. And when they had danced, sometime near the end of the first bottle of wine, Castle had kept a hand pressed low, low on her back to keep her close while his other hand roamed from her hair to her cheek to indecently close to the swell of her breast and he whispered about how he thought they moved well together until she shivered in his arms.

When they had drifted back to their table there had been fresh strawberries and chocolate and the undisguised heat in his eyes when he brushed one of the berries against her lips and she took a bite, catching his wrist and flicked her tongue at the juice on his fingers before he pulled away. The strawberries were gone now, and Beckett's head was resting near Castle's collarbone, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders, his fingertips occasionally brushing against the heated skin of her arm. His other hand was snug between her knees, playing with the roughness of the lace edging of her dress and the smooth expanse of thigh she was allowing him to touch.

She sighed his name when his fingers inched _under _her dress, clamped a hand over the top of his to stop his progression and re-crossed her legs. He chuckled into her hair. "Problem, Detective?"

"Mmm-hmm. Just this guy I know, getting handsy."

"It's ok, you know. If he's a writer. They have great hands."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. It's proven fact."

She just hummed then, relaxing more into his side and catching his wandering hand by entangling their fingers. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady sound of his breathing and the music. She was mapping the ridges of his hand with the pad of her thumb and feeling herself go almost drowsy with latent arousal and contentment when he skimmed his fingers back up her arm.

"You're not falling asleep, are you?" he asked, his voice laced with amusement.

She grinned and sat back a little, biting her lip. "No, just enjoying this. Enjoying you."

He beamed, a big broad smile that he didn't usually use, and Beckett felt her own smile growing in response. It took so little to make this man happy.

"Well, if you think you're ready, we can move on to phase two."

Beckett sat back further, lifting an eyebrow. "Really? There's more?"

"Of course," he said, like it was obvious and he was a little offended she could possibly think otherwise.

When he led her outside he stopped at the curb and looked first left, than right. He checked his watch, wrapped an arm around her waist to help ward off the chill of the evening, and looked around again. Curious, Beckett found herself standing on tip-toe to look as well, stretching to see over and around the Friday night rush of New Yorkers even though she didn't know what she was looking for. Finally, curiosity got the better of her. "Castle, are we going to just stand here and freeze for the rest of the evening?"

Instead of getting an answer, she saw his face light up when he finally saw whatever it was he was looking for. His extra height allowed him a better view than her, but before long she could hear the tell-tale clip clop of hooves approaching.

"Castle, you didn't."

But he had. Before long a horse-drawn carriage pulled up to a stop in front of them and the very dapper looking driver hopped down to help them up. Her face betraying her delight, Beckett settled in next to Castle, gladly sinking into his warmth and letting him drape a blanket over their legs. Before taking off, the driver turned and offered them two visibly steaming cardboard cups.

"Vanilla latte for the lady," he said, handing them back, "and a regular for the gentleman."

While Kate warmed her fingers against the cup her lips twisted into a strange smile. Castle looked over at her and his own lips quirked in questioning amusement.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah, Castle." She leaned over and brushed her lips against his, glad for the extra privacy afforded them by the recessed seating of the carriage. When she started to pull away he moved with her, kissing her again. And one more time after that, with his tongue delving briefly into her mouth and sparking a sharp, sudden surge of arousal in her. Beckett had to fight the urge to moan against his lips when he stroked his tongue against the roof of her mouth. She settled for clutching at the lapels of his jacket and pressing herself against him from hip to chest.

He let her go when she drew away again, their heavy breath steaming out into the air around them. "Yeah, Castle," she continued between breaths, "everything is great."

Once the carriage ride was under way, Castle took it upon himself to be their impromptu tour guide, telling personal tales of the kind of trouble he'd gotten into at each passing landmark. A particularly funny story about the time that he'd been kicked out of an eclectic gay bar in the Village, shirtless, had them both in fits of laughter, clutching at each other and sloshing their coffee dangerously. This led to a whispered game of "brothers or lovers" which in turn led to Castle spinning tales about every group of people the passed, some of whom became mobsters and criminals and some who were foreign dignitaries gone incognito for the evening so they could let loose on the town and rekindle old flames.

Beckett was just finishing off the last of her coffee when she began to recognize the familiar face of her own neighborhood around them. She felt a rush of a strange nostalgia for the night because, even though they were still in it, the end was fast approaching. Castle heard her sigh and he must have understood because he asked, "Do you want to walk the last couple of blocks?"

So the driver pulled over and they disembarked, taking a moment to say goodbye to the horses. Before pulling away from the curb the driver handed Beckett a small white envelope. Surprised, she turned to look at Castle but he just shrugged in feigned ignorance.

"Open it," he said.

Tilting her head at him suspiciously, she broke the seal and opened the envelope. At first, she thought it was empty, but she ran a finger inside and felt the stick of a curled edge of paper. When she pulled on it, she was rewarded with a post-it note, folded in half. She shot him an eye-crinkling grin and flipped it open.

_Alone at last_

_Kiss me, Kate_

She looked at him in amusement, lips pursed, shaking her head minutely.

"What's it say?"

She rolled her eyes at that, but stepped closer to him and ran her hands down his chest, tracing the lines of his suit jacket. "It was instructions," she commented dryly.

Castle smirked, so amused that she was playing along, but his eyes shone with a more sincere anticipation. He caught her wandering hands and pulled her snugly against him. He bent his head down until their noses were brushing and wrapped one arm slowly around her. "Kiss me, Kate," he murmured, and she couldn't help but comply, simply tilting her head up until their lips met.

But though the evening had been filled with a building anticipation, their kiss was still slow; more chaste even than the ones they'd shared in the carriage. She took her time, pulling at his lips with her own and tasting the edge of stubble on his lower lip with the tip of her tongue. Everything was light and loose and warm and delicious. Castle's hands found their way into her hair but he didn't move to hold her still or deepen the kiss, he simply caressed her and tugged gently. She sighed and kissed him again, just the press of her lips, and then again on the very corner of his mouth.

When she pulled away she held out her hand for him to take, which he did, and they began the short walk to her building. They covered the distance in short order, quietly, shoulders brushing. As they approached, Beckett realized that her desire to play with him or to win some unspoken game was taking a back seat to her simple desire for him. They paused together at the door, a moment of awkwardness passed between them, and then they both spoke at once.

"Can I come up?"

"Want to come up?"

They laughed together, a little shy and a little nervous but ready. So ready. So she squeezed his hand in hers, meeting his eyes intensely, and led him to the elevator. They stood in silence, both smiling, hands linked, until the doors closed around them, and then it was like whatever cord restraining Castle had been cut loose. He turned her with firm hands on her shoulders and then he was kissing her, using his body to walk her back until she was pressed against the wall. His mouth was insistent over hers, pressing and licking and sucking until he nipped on her bottom lip and her body jerked in his arms.

He groaned and slid his hands to her hips to drag her into him again, allowing her to finally feel how much she was affecting him. She let out a sound that was something like a whimper at that, completely swamped with emotion and arousal.

_This is Castle, This is Castle, This is Castle_.

Neither of them noticed the ding of the elevator at her floor, but luckily when the doors slid open there was no one on the other side to see how Castle had her pressed into the wall and her leg wrapped around his hip. He released her leg but didn't let go of her completely, following closely behind her and dragging his mouth from her ear to her shoulder as they stumbled down the hall. She moaned in response, reaching behind her to slid her fingers through his hair and hold him to her so he could do that again. At her door, he interrupted her search for her keys to kiss her deeply again, hands lightly palming her face, bodies pressed closely together.

"I can't believe we're finally doing this," he murmured, his hands sliding up her thighs to shimmy her skirt a little higher so he could slip one leg between hers. She gasped and rocked against him.

"Your fault we haven't done this sooner."

Castle laughed, and nodded. "Yeah. True."

"You were messing with me," she managed to say between breaths. "This week."

"Yeah."

The part of Beckett that had been so frustrated by his rejections woke a little at his smug tone. She pulled her mouth away from his but couldn't help from pressing small kisses to his jaw before asking, "Was it fun?"

In true Castle fashion, he answered without thinking it through. "So fun. Best game ever." She could tell the minute he realized that he might not be helping himself out here from the way he stiffened but held more firmly to her hips, like he could keep her there if he just held on hard enough.

"So much fun, hmm? At my expense?" She asked dryly, pushing him away with a shove from both hands on his chest. He allowed himself to be pushed back a step, but no further. She worked very hard to keep her face stern, to hide her rising mirth as she sensed the turning of the tables between them.

"But stupid," he clarified with wide eyes. "I mean, so stupid." He held out his hands in a gesture of _this much stupid _and tried to step closer to her again. She stopped him with a glare.

Then her gaze softened, and she stepped in to kiss him briefly on the lips before stepping back and patting his chest with one hand. "Don't worry, Castle." She was finally succeeded in fishing her keys out of her bag and gave him one of her looks. One of _those _looks. "You just prevented me from breaking my own moral code."

"I did?"

"Yes."

"Uh..." Castle looked completely undone. "What code?"

"Never, ever sleep with a guy on the first date."

With that, she pecked him on the cheek once more, murmured thanks for a wonderful evening, and slid into her apartment. "Goodnight, Rick," she said, laughing at him as she closed the door on his gaping face. Unable to help herself, she looked through the peephole after she locked the door, getting a fish-eye view of Castle pressing the fingertips of each hand into his face, contorting his cheeks until his mouth formed a tiny "o" of disbelief.

She laughed and stepped back, raising one fist in victory, before falling to her couch. She was bubbling with the giddy after effects of her date and a new kind of mirth. She ran a hand through her tousled hair, and shook her head. The look on his face, that made it worth it. At least for this one night. Sexually frustrated? Hell, yes. Winner of this round? Hell, yes.

.

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A/N: Sorry for the wait, but at least this one is kinda long, right? :) Thanks very much for fav/follows/reviews. I'm always surprised by how happy they make me. Also sorry for errors/typos/weird sentences, I swear, I never see them all until after I hit send. Usually RIGHT after.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The middle of this one is angst and I know not everyone is into that. But have no fear, we come out the other side before it's all over.

Chapter 5:

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The next day was Saturday, but weekend or not there was a lot of paperwork to finish filling out that Beckett had blown off the previous evening.

7:30am found her sitting in her parked cruiser with her fingers pressed to her lips, desperately trying to swallow down tears born of the unexpected dose of emotion she'd received when she slid into her car. She was grinning and sniffling and looking around the vehicle's interior with watery eyes.

The windshield, the dash, the gear shift, and the steering wheel were covered in post-its. Everyone was green and held a short description, sometimes including a location. With trembling hands, she peeled one off and held it protectively in her hands to read it.

_Starbucks_

_Coffee, raspberry muffins._

_I liked them, you didn't._

_I held the door._

She grabbed another, carefully aligning it with the first so that the sticky parts matched up.

_Remy's._

_You let me buy_

_You twirled your hair._

Beckett pursed her lips at that, rolling her eyes even as she was eagerly reaching for the next one.

_We attended two weddings together._

And another.

_I brought you flowers._

And another.

_I brought a bottle of wine._

_We discussed theory._

_You let me spend the night._

_(On the couch. Still counts.)_

She laughed.

_We watched Forbidden Planet together._

They went on and on. Each note was placed fastidiously into her growing pile. Some were vague but some were very specific, bringing her back to some of the more cherished moments of their friendship. She read them all and when she was done she wrapped a rubber band she found at the bottom of the cup holder around the little stack. She cradled it sentimentally to her chest, fingers stroking tenderly over the words, the _evidence_, before slipping the pile into her coat pocket.

The warm feeling in her chest only grew stronger on the drive to the precinct. By the time she was stepping off of the elevator she was practically bursting with it, beaming out a smile that left some officers frowning disapprovingly at her while some smiled reflexively. When she saw Esposito he raised his eyebrows.

"What, you win the lottery or something?" He asked, smirking. Nothing had been said between them, but Espo knew Beckett better than almost anyone. He knew why she had been so happy these last few days, and he knew why she'd been trying to leave at a reasonable hour the night before.

"Sort of," was all she said, shooting him a victorious smile when he turned down his mouth in repulsion.

"You make me sick, Beckett."

She shrugged unapologetically, still grinning, and moved toward her desk where Castle was sitting nonchalantly in his chair. She met his amused gaze with a big broad smile, _so happy_, and sat. Castle drummed his fingers along the edge of her desk and held her gaze, both cheerful and intent, and she tried to form words in her suddenly dry mouth. Unsuccessful, she pulled out the neat little stack of post-its and waved them at him.

"So," she managed, then found herself at a loss.

"So," he echoed, "Kate. I was thinking that last night was nowhere near our first date."

"Oh." Words had left her completely, replaced by the giddy, contented delight that he added to every time he said her name or smiled at her.

"I mean," he leaned closer and dropped his voice, tapping one finger on the pile of notes still clutched in her hands, "here is some pretty damning evidence."

She nodded, gaze flicking from his eyes to his lips to his hands. Her head tilted slightly and her lips parted before she caught herself, realizing too late that she was hoping he'd kiss her. Instead he dropped his voice to a lower, dirtier note, and nodded toward her desk.

"But it looks like you missed one."

There she found a last note.

_I'm going to seduce you now._

"Um." She moved her mouth a few times before she was finally able to ask with wide eyes, "Right now?"

"Hmm," he frowned and rubbed his hands together as if thinking it over. "I think I can start now." He pressed his knee into hers so their calves brushed, and held her gaze while he added the last note to the pile she was holding; caressing her fingers more than was necessary. She swallowed.

"And then later," he continued, leaning even closer so he could whisper his plans to her, "after work, I'm going to take you out. Somewhere intimate."

She found herself nodding too many times and grinning at him, clutching at his fingers until the seriousness left his face and he was smiling affectionately back, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"Sounds good," she managed.

"Good, it's a date," he said and sat back. "I didn't do the math, but it's basically our 300th date. We should make it special."

"Yeah," she said breathlessly.

"Yeah."

.

...

.

The day went downhill the minute Lanie said the victim was killed by a "long range shooter". Beckett felt an immediate pang centered on the tiny scar on her chest. The pain was probably imagined, she didn't know, but she lifted a hand to press into the discomfort anyway. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Castle noticed her movement, and she knew without looking that he understood it.

5 o'clock came and went, buried by the intensity of their work, and then 6, and then 7. As 8 o'clock approached, Beckett jerked out of her research with a start and glanced over at Castle. His jacket was off, draped over the back of his chair, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to the elbow. His bangs were swaying in front of his eyes as he leaned over the files he was working through. Beckett felt overwhelmed, not for the first time, by the kindness of the man throwing himself into a case he knew meant so much to her.

"Castle," she said softly, reaching over to wrap her hand around his exposed forearm. He looked up, his eyes taking a second to adjust from his reading, and then he quietly met her gaze. "I... I'm sorry. Our date."

Castle shook his head without breaking her gaze, and covered her hand with his free one. "Don't, Kate. I get it. This first."

"You're sure?"

"Of course," he said, voice still low. "I get it."

.

...

.

On Sunday, when Beckett dropped to the ground at the sound of a passing siren, she could barely hear the professed concerns of Lanie and Esposito over the roaring sound in her ears and the hammering of her heart. It was Castle's voice that eventually broke through the din, and his hands prying her fingers from where they were still gripping the newspaper rack she was cowering behind. She murmured consent when he asked if he could help her up, keeping her eyes on the ground. Castle kept his hands on her shoulders and guided her away from the worried looks of their friends until they were somewhat isolated behind a nearby hotdog cart.

"Castle, I'm fine."

"Just take a breath, Kate."

"I don't need to take a breath, I need to catch this guy."

"Okay, good." Castle released his hold on her as her breathing came back down to normal levels, and then he shrugged, diplomatic. "Listen, it was just a startle response. It could have happened to anyone."

"Yeah, well, I'm not anyone."

"I'm just saying-"

"Just don't, okay?" she snapped, suddenly furious. Castle stopped speaking but didn't move away. Instead he moved closer and pulled her into a fierce hug. Beckett tried to pull away instinctively before dropping her head to his shoulder, deflating rapidly. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. He just squeezed her tighter, rocking a little from side to side.

"Promise me something," he said.

"Okay."

"If it gets to be too much, you let me know. You tell me, or you call me, or you come to the loft and surprise me, okay?"

She hesitated, but in the end she realized she felt safer in his embrace than anywhere else, and relented. "M'kay." She pulled away. "Thanks, Castle."

"Always."

.

...

.

She called him that night, far enough into a bottle of Jack that she could barely stand but not far enough to keep her demons at bay. When he knocked on the door she startled badly and knocked her end table and whiskey glass to the floor with the bang and tinkle of shattered glass. She yelped at the noise, shying away again. She spotted her gun out of the corner of her eye and lunged for it, but felt strong arms wrap around her and pull her sharply away from the shards of broken glass. She fought the restraint in a blind panic until his words broke through once more.

"Beckett! Kate, it's me, it's me. Stop fighting! Stop. It's Castle."

"Castle..." her response was a long moan of his name that dissolved into gritty sobs. She turned in his arms to bury her face in his chest and grapple with his jacket until both of her hands were tightly fisted in the material, pulling him close with tense arms that showed every muscle and tendon and every meal she had missed in the last two days. "Castle."

He wrapped his arms around her as she pressed closer and drew her knees up until she was fetal into his lap. Castle's hands stroked from her hair all the way down her back over and over again until the last vestiges of panic were gone, leaving only the rawness of despair. Eventually, sometime after he repositioned them so that he was stretched out on the couch and she was wrapped up in his arms, even the despair dissipated and she was completely empty. Or rather, she might have been, were it not for Castle's presence. Instead of the expected emptiness, she felt affection (love?) and even the barest ghost of mirth tickling at the back of her brain.

"Castle?" Her voice was raw and gravelly and it hurt her throat to speak.

"Yeah?"

"Are you counting this as our date?"

He laughed, his relief palpable. "Well, no. This isn't the date I had in mind."

"Good," she mumbled into the safety of his chest.

"But," he continued, "I guess it does count as a date, technically, because I'm definitely spending the night."

"You don't have to." Her protest was purely instinctual and she didn't bother to put any force into her words or release her hold on him.

"I know. That's what makes me great."

She smiled then, and relaxed into him even more, nuzzling against the soft fabric of his shirt. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. "You are great. But Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"You have to sleep on the couch."

He grinned, and tugged his fingers through her messy hair. "Sure thing, Beckett."

"Might stay 'ere wi' you, though." The words were slurred with the alcohol and the fast onset of sleepiness, and they were the last thing either of them said that night.

.

...

.

By the next evening they were sitting casually at her desk, the gunman dead, a weight lifted from their shoulders. Beckett was playing with the same coffee she'd been nursing all day, running her fingertips over the words he had written on the cup that morning.

_This one is for the strongest person I know._

His had said _This one is for the writer_. He had bought them and returned to her apartment before she had woken, groggy and head aching and confused. He had offered her the coffee on the condition that she also drink a bottle of water and take the proffered ibuprofen. He hadn't asked any questions or even looked at her sideways. He had just been there for her, and she was so grateful she could feel it like a physical presence inside of her. So much had happened since that morning, it seemed like a lifetime ago. A serial killer silenced, the victims avenged in the only way she knew how.

She smiled at him now, a little sad and a lot relieved.

"I'm looking for my partner," he said. Beckett raised her eyebrows curiously. "Pretty girl," he began, "thinks she can leap tall buildings in a single bound, carries the weight of the world on her shoulders."

Beckett lowered her gaze, the imitation of a smile playing at her lips.

Castle continued, "She even manages to laugh at some of my jokes."

"She sounds perfect for you."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, if you see her, tell her she owes me about a hundred coffees."

Beckett smiled. "I bet she's hoping she can pay you back some other way." The flirty words earned her a grin and a bump of her knee with his. "Castle," she continued more seriously. "Thank you. For not pushing, and knowing when to give me the space to just... get through this. And knowing when I needed you to help me through it."

He smiled, genuine unguarded affection written all over his features. He scooted to the edge of his chair and took both of her hands in his, glancing around briefly to make sure they didn't have an audience. "All I have ever really wanted is for you to ask me to help you through it. I'm so glad you did."

She leaned forward then and pressed her lips chastely to his, right there in the middle of the bullpen for everyone to see. When she pulled away she bumped her forehead to his and smiled at his wide-eyed surprise.

"Oh my God, guys, get a room," came Esposito's voice across the room. Beside him, Ryan was laughing delightedly, miming applause.

Beckett rolled her eyes at them, gave them the finger, and sat back. "You know, Castle, this week has been exhausting."

"Oh, I agree."

"And I don't really feel up to much; I don't think I can handle a real date right now."

Castle held up his hands to stop her. "I get it, Kate. Take a few days to recover. I'll be here when you're ready."

"That's just it," she said, squeezing his hand and biting her lip. "I _am _exhausted, but I don't want to go off and recover and then come back to you when I'm ready. I just want to spend time with you. I just want... this. Us."

His expression was more of a reward than she could have imagined. He smiled in a way she'd only seen from him when he was talking about his family; full of unconditional and unquestioned love and pride. He was proud of her.

"So, if you want, can we just go get some coffee or something? Just relax?"

"Better idea," Castle said, still beaming. "Comfort food truck. We both need it, and it is so relaxing it might relax you right into a food coma."

"That sounds perfect," she said, grinning, suddenly starving.

Castle tugged her up to her feet and helped her put her jacket on, earning more catcalls from the peanut gallery. Someone whistled loudly. When they looked, the boys were both leaned back in their chairs, watching them unabashedly. A few other detectives were watching as well.

"Quite the catch there, Beckett," Ryan said. "A real gentleman."

"Just don't believe everything he says," Esposito said. "The man lies for a living."

"Okay, boys," Beckett stopped them. "Knock off early, you've earned it."

And she took Castle's hand in hers, lacing their fingers together and swinging their arms slightly as they walked toward the elevator.

Castle squeezed her hand and grinned. "So, ready for date number three hundred and one?"

"Yeah. Hey Castle?"

"Hmm?" She saw him take a deep breath when he looked down and saw that she was holding her little stack of post-its, flipping them like a good luck charm in her hand.

"Why were all of the post-its in the car green?"

"Because, Beckett," Castle said, looking like he couldn't believe she hadn't gotten it. "Green means good to go."

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**A/N2**: So I deleted this whole chapter and redid the larger story, then changed my mind and re-wrote it. So if you like it, YAY! If you don't, I understand. :) One more chapter, and possibly an epilogue. Thanks SO MUCH for the support on this story.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

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,

,

The first day after resolving the sniper case was filled with more comfort food, just a little paperwork, a lot of _pretending _to do paperwork while they joked and talked, coffee and the simple pleasures of hand holding and knowing that they were both on the same page for the first time since their partnership began. But as they were winding their way back to the precinct after running out for a late lunch of macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes, Beckett found herself walking close enough to Castle to slip her arm under his coat and around his waist. When he smiled down at her, she tucked her face into the safety of his chest. She let her fingers play with the crisp material at his side and just above his belt. Then she pinched him.

"Hey!" he laughed, sidestepping and wiggling away from her wandering hand. Just as quickly he dragged her back into his side as their path wandered across the sidewalk, earning them glares from passing, aggravated New Yorkers. She giggled at his reaction, and hummed when his hand gripped her firmly around her waist and his own fingers pressed suggestively into her skin. Even through the material of her top and her light jacket, the pressure was unearthing the latent desire between them.

"Hmm. Feels nice," she mumbled.

As they stepped up to the building they dropped their arms away from each other in mutual understanding, but she missed the warmth of his touch right away. With a glint in her eye she reached up on tiptoe and whispered, "Stairs?"

Castle grinned and nodded, following willingly as she bypassed the elevators to duck into the stairwell. She could feel his eyes on her ass as she started to ascend the stairs in front of him (there was a reason these were her favorite jeans) and smirked when his hands wrapped around her at the first landing. He tugged her to a stop and then back into him, his hands holding tightly to her hips.

"What are you doing?" she asked innocently even as he brushed her hair aside and kissed her neck lightly.

"Using the stairs."

"Not what I meant," she said without bite, gasping when his mouth opened wetly below her ear. His response was lost when he didn't bother to stop kissing her to make it, just a grunt that vibrated into her skin. Despite her words, Beckett turned in his arms, head tilted so he could keep doing what he was doing, and slid the fingers of one hand into his hair. "Mmm, Castle."

Castle backed her into the wall, pressing their bodies together, and brought one hand up to cup the weight of her breast in his palm. He pulled his mouth away from her and she couldn't help a soft groan of disappointment from escaping her even as she arched her back so she could crowd closer to him. He felt delicious and it seemed very important that she continue to feel this way.

"This isn't what you had in mind?" He asked, playfully squeezing her through the fabric of her top.

"Nope," she gasped at the new contact. "Just wanted to walk off the carbs."

"You weren't even thinking about this?" He asked as he shifted to press his thigh lightly between hers.

"Castle, I... No. Definitely not that."

He kissed her again, his tongue sliding briefly into her mouth. Then he pulled away and smirked playfully, holding her gaze with his bright blue eyes. "My mistake," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. When he started up the stairs it was Beckett's turn to ogle. And she did, with her tongue caught between her teeth and her head tilted for a better view. She spent three flights like that, watching the muscles moving beneath his jeans, wondering why she hadn't taken the opportunity to touch him a few minutes ago, and wondering how soon she could get another chance.

When he turned and caught her at it, she blushed but met his eye despite the heat in her cheeks. Castle didn't say anything, just leaned too close and trailed his hand over her back and over the flare of her hip when he held the door for her to enter the 12th.

Back at her desk, Castle swung his chair around so he was sitting next to Beckett instead of across from her.

"Castle," she hissed reflexively, eyes darting out over the bullpen.

"What?" he asked, grinning and leaning a little closer. He flipped open a file on her desk and mimed reading it, nodding sagely, and curled his fingers around her knee. Beckett tensed, both nervous and excited, and licked her lips.

"Castle," she murmured again, unable to think of what else to say. _Stop _would be the appropriate thing, but she didn't want to stop him. When she didn't remove his hand, he slid further up her leg, teasing against the seam of her jeans. Beckett covered his hand with hers, still staring at whatever paperwork Castle was pointing vaguely at with his free hand. When he slid even further she gasped, breathing shallowly through her nose, and dug her fingernails into his palm. "I thought you had to go help Alexis with her-" her mind fuzzed out a little when his knuckles brushed at the juncture of her thighs, "her, um. The thing."

Castle laughed softly, increased the pressure long enough to feel her hips lift involuntarily, and then released his hold and slid his chair back to its usual spot. Beckett closed her eyes and breathed deeply, struggling for control. When she opened them Castle was watching her with humor in his eyes.

"I do, indeed, have to go help my favorite daughter with her project at the Met."

Beckett nodded. "Right. The arts in focus campaign. That's what I meant."

"Oh sure. Listen, Kate," he said, suddenly more serious. "This thing we're doing," he gestured between them with a grin, "it's awesome. Best thing ever, actually."

Beckett nodded, confusion wrinkling her brow. "Agreed," she said with a small smile.

"But how about tomorrow night, we put the teasing on hold and really, um..." he trailed off, eyes squinting as he fumbled for the right words.

"...really _do _this?" Beckett finished, teeth flashing at her own double entendre.

Castle grinned. "Well I would eventually have found another way to put it, but, well... Yes."

Beckett laughed and smiled at him, a little flush with anticipation. She lowered her voice and looked at him through her lashes. "Yeah. So, tomorrow? No more teasing?"

"Yeah." When Beckett bit her lip, Castle shook his head. "Stop that! No more, I can't take it. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, and we'll finalize something."

Beckett grinned, and shamelessly watched while he walked away. After he left she sat back in her chair and spun in a circle, smiling and twirling her hair.

.

...

.

Castle's call the next morning was a welcome interruption from her boring day.

"Tell me you need me," Castle said.

Beckett made a face at her phone, shaking her head. "I thought you said no more teasing today, Castle."

"Unfortunately, I was just hoping for some kind of escape. I'm at the bank with Mother."

"Oh, well, in that case _of course _I need you. You should come rescue me from my mountain of paperwork. Or come help me with it. Do your share for once."

"Hmm. I'd prefer to rescue you. Throw you over my shoulder, carry you away from the villain."

Beckett pursed her lips and imagined it. "Wouldn't work. Paper would find us and suffocate us in our sleep."

Castle didn't respond until she prompted again. "Castle? You there?"

"Beckett, I think this bank is about to be robbed."

Beckett rolled her eyes until she heard the sound of shouting in the background, and her heart dropped.

.

...

.

"Castle! Castle!" Beckett was yelling over the sound of the bomb squad and swat team, unprofessional but uncaring. While other officers were clearing sections of the bank in a methodical manner, Beckett charged straight forward into the dusty, dim area, her voice rising to a level approaching a strangled scream. "Castle!"

_Please, Castle. Where are you? Please, Castle, answer me._

"Beckett!"

At the sound of his voice hope fluttered in her chest. Her vision tunneled when she saw him. She could see only him, thankfully unhurt, even if he was a little dusty. The way he smiled turned the flutter into a full drum beat, her heart slamming against her ribs and adrenaline making her dizzy with the taste of copper in her mouth. Despite the uncomfortable buzzing in her limbs, she managed to drag open the door to the vault and dropped without pretense to her knees in front of him. She cut his hands free quickly. Before he could say anything she settled her hands on his chest and kissed him. It was desperate and sweet at the same time, and altogether too brief.

"I love you Castle. I love you. I love you."

Castle's face transformed into amazement and he reached up to brush away tears she hadn't been aware she was crying. With a shuddering breath she sat back, and said the thing she really needed to say. "I love you, _too_, Castle. I love you, too."

It was two admissions in one, and she felt a twinge of fear that he might be angry, that it might change everything, but he only smiled more widely. He opened his mouth to speak and-

"He's not the only one here, you know," Martha interrupted.

Beckett's eyes widened and she moved quickly over to Castle's mother, cutting the ties that bound her and grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, Martha."

"Quite alright, Darling, it was nice to see the show. Now my son can't keep telling me that he has no feelings for you!"

Castle glared at his mother but she just shrugged and waggled her fingers at him before allowing Beckett to help her up.

.

...

.

It was approaching midnight when Martha and Alexis headed upstairs to bed. Castle and Beckett were snuggled tightly together on the sofa with her legs draped over his lap and her head on his shoulder. She would have had another sip of wine, somewhere along the way he'd bought a bottle of that new Pinot she loved, but it would have meant moving away from him to reach for her glass on the coffee table. At the moment that wasn't a price she was willing to pay.

"Are you sleepy?" he asked, the words murmured into her hair. He stroked a warm hand over her shoulder and tugged her a little closer to him.

"No."

It was so easy to tilt her head back and brush her lips across his. Beckett trailed her fingertips across his jaw to feel the way the muscles worked as he kissed her back.

Castle moved back just far enough to murmur, "Good." His breath puffed across her lips before he angled his head to kiss her more thoroughly. It was warm and slow, his lips and tongue caressing her mouth leisurely, a hand stroking across her cheekbone and down her throat.

He kept at it until Beckett had to twist her mouth away to breath, chest heaving. "Castle," she whispered roughly, eyes shining, "I thought you were gone today."

He kissed her again, harder, before sighing, "All I could think about was you."

She shifted into his lap and slid both hands through his hair and down his face, cradling his cheeks in her palms. Leaning in, she used her mouth to thank him, pressing the emotion she was feeling into his skin. Castle's hands shifted to her hair, gripping tightly. When he tugged, she moaned. When he dropped one hand to squeeze her ass she gasped and rocked into him. Castle chuckled and grinned at her.

"Nobody likes cocky, Castle," she murmured, bending over further to suck lightly at his throat.

"Just you wait," he said, still laughing. She nipped at him in retaliation for his smugness. He let his head fall back against the couch and pulled her with him so they were touching from hip to chest. When she bit at his throat again his hips twitched, and Beckett got a preview of just how _cocky _he really was. She gasped and rocked her hips again with more purpose, reveling in the freedom to finally do this. Reveling in the feeling of having him hard and willing between her legs.

Then Castle grasped her hips firmly, stopping her movement.

"Castle, don't," Beckett complained before dipping her mouth to his again. But Castle kept the kiss light, nipping at her lips and tracing the shape of her mouth with his tongue without allowing her entrance to his. "Ca-astle," Beckett was practically whining now. "You said no teasing."

"It's just so fun, Kate," he growled.

Despite his half-hearted attempts to avoid her, Beckett managed to kiss him deeply then, her tongue tracing the ridges of his mouth before she sucked his tongue roughly into hers, caressing and stroking in rhythm with the unconscious movement of her hips.

"Castle," she gasped when she moved away to breath, "this might be more fun than the chase. You should try it."

This time when she ground their hips together he grunted, wrapped his arms tightly against her, and stood. Beckett squeaked in surprised and clutched at his shoulders, her legs like a vise around his waist. He kissed her as he walked them toward the bedroom, stumbling against the coffee table. Beckett giggled.

"Your control is slipping, arrogant man."

Castle huffed in disapproval and smirked at her, striding across the loft and through the office before kicking the door shut and dropping her unceremoniously onto his bed. She bounced once before coming to rest. "Sorry," he said, "you slipped right when my control did."

Beckett gave him a dirty look and then used her feet to tug him closer to the bed. From this angle she could see just how aroused he really was. When he was close enough, she pressed her knees into his waist and crossed her feet behind his back. When she wiggled her feet her heels pressed teasingly into his backside. Castle's back straightened in response, and he grinned. Then he dragged his short fingernails over the fabric covering her thighs, starting at the knee and working toward her hips.

"Come here," she whispered, still splayed out over his comforter, nibbling seductively on a thumbnail and looking at him sideways. She tugged at him with her feet to encourage him to join her.

Castle made a rumbling noise, head tilted, letting his gaze wander over her while his hands dug more firmly into the muscles of her thighs. Instead of climbing in with her, he drew his fingertips over the skin at her waist were her shirt had ridden up. When her back arched in response he leaned down to kiss the spot, trailing his mouth from hip to hip, using his tongue to draw wet circles into her skin. Beckett couldn't help the moan that escaped her then, twisting beneath his tongue as the muscles of her stomach tensed. She pulled him away with her fingers grasping at his hair and sat up to kiss his mouth again.

He used the opportunity to lift her shirt over her head in one smooth movement, immediately leaning in to kiss her again and run his hands over the newly exposed skin. Beckett moaned again, then slid further up the bed so he had to rest his weight on his arms to kiss her, fists planted to either side of her head.

"Kate," he murmured between kisses, his arms flexing tantalizingly beneath her fingers when he dipped down to her collar bone. "Are you sure?"

"_Yes_, Castle. Please."

Then he grinned, chuckling against her exposed shoulder and nudging her bra strap with his nose.

"Castle!" Beckett reprimanded sharply, squirming beneath him. "You're still teasing!"

He drew one knee up to help balance over her and wrapped her leg over his. "Yeah."

"_Stop_."

He pressed his hips down into hers fleetingly, then paused, lips pulled to the side in a smirk. "You want me to stop?"

"Castle!" She growled in frustration. Instead of continuing this line of questioning, Beckett knocked one of his arms out from under him and twisted them in the bed until he was sprawled on his back and she was straddling his thighs. She turned her dark, triumphant eyes to his. She kissed him quickly, smiling a little at his stunned expression, and started unbuttoning his shirt. With every button she took the time to drag her nails across his skin or tease the light tufts of hair she uncovered. Halfway done, she couldn't resist leaning in to kiss him again more fully, letting their tongues touch before she slid her mouth over his jaw to his ear.

"Castle," she sighed, barely audible, her lips brushing tantalizingly over his skin. "I need you. I want you to stop teasing me. I want you to just _do _me, ok?"

Castle nodded mutely, staring up at Beckett. Then he grinned darkly, victoriously, and flipped her onto her back so he could get to the very serious business of undressing her.

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..(end)...

**A/N: **annnnnd that's it! I hope you liked it. I found doing a multi-chapter thing much more difficult than I thought it would be... and this wasn't that long. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the reviews/follows/favs. Castle fandom is nice. :)

I DO plan on writing an epilogue but that's not done at all, so I make no promises as to when that'll show up.


	7. Epilogue

**A/N:** Thank you all once again for supporting my story. I didn't get around to individual responses for the last chapter as I had a personal-life essssplosion. But I love every single review and I really appreciate that you took the time. Now, all is well and I finally got around to writing this. As promised:

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**Epilogue:**

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Castle was giggling _like a little girl_. High-pitched and squealing, with an occasional squeak. Beckett could feel every gasp and hitch in his breath vibrate through her mouth where it was attached to the spot at the edge of his ribcage. She laughed softly into his skin and then scraped her teeth over the sensitive spot. Castle jerked and tried to squirm away.

"Beckett!" he gasped, his laughter like a gurgle in his throat.

Beckett wrapped her arm more tightly around his middle so that when he moved away he just dragged her with him, sliding across the bed with their feet toward the headboard, and gave one more teasing, smacking kiss to his ticklish spot. She laughed when he hooked his hands under her arms and dragged her naked body across the disheveled bed to distract her, occupying her traitorous mouth with his own. She let him kiss her, lips meeting clumsily through their mutual laughter. Then she let the fingers of one hand trail back down his side.

He convulsed with the sensation and flipped them , holding both of her hands in one of his and pinning her with his chest over hers and the press of one thigh between her own.

"Beckett," he rumbled into her ear, tweaking it with his free hand, "You promised. No more tickling."

"Did I?"

"Yes," he growled again, this time biting gently at her ear before pulling back to glare at her. "Eight months ago. I put up with it for about four weeks, and then when I told you how much I don't like it you _promised_."

She just grinned devilishly up at him and shrugged as well as she could with her arms overhead. She pouted at him and shifted her hips against his thigh, breaking into a smile when he hummed approval. When Beckett reached up to kiss him he released his hold on her hands and sank down into her, digging his fingers into her hair and tilting his head to gain easier access to her mouth. They were skin to skin, briefly lost in the friction of his body over hers and her tongue in his mouth.

Then her sneaky, wandering hands skimmed down his back and squeezed his ass, hard. Castle grunted in surprise and she laughed at him, twisting her head away so she could watch the grin spread across his face. He kissed her again, sucking lightly on her lower lip. "I love you," he murmured. "But I'm not eighteen anymore. Gonna need a minute before round two." When he rolled to the side she went with him, snuggling into his chest and draping one leg high over his stomach.

"Love you, too, old man."

He grumbled incoherently, but the way his hand was caressing her naked leg betrayed any true annoyance. His fingers skated as far down her leg as he could reach without moving, just brushing above her ankle. She shivered, and he grinned into her hair.

"Happy anniversary, Kate."

"Nine month anniversary, Castle. Still not a thing."

"Hey," he protested, "if the kids measure in three month increments, why can't we?"

Beckett just hummed against his chest, sated and happy and beginning to feel the pull of sleep tugging at her eyelids. Castle was still chuckling, his fingers drifting around behind her knee. When she sighed in contentment he squeezed the back of her thigh. She grinned, eyes still closed, and shifted against him to get more comfortable without moving away from his hands. His warm hands that were smoothing higher up her leg now, teasing and soothing at the same time.

"Hey," Castle muttered. "How'd this end up here?"

She felt an unusual tug at her skin and heard a little _snick_ before he produced one purple, smudged, wrinkled post-it note. Beckett grinned and propped herself up on one elbow, smoothing her hand over his chest. "Which one is that?"

Castle sat up and turned them around in the bed so they were facing the right way again. He propped himself up against the headboard and tucked her back under his arm. They tipped their heads together to peer at the note.

_I like knowing that you snore_

Beckett rolled her eyes and snatched the note out of his hand. "Still not your most romantic work, Castle."

Despite her words she carefully smoothed the paper and placed it deliberately on her nightstand amidst a host of others.

"Hey," he said. "It's true."

"Maybe." Beckett, shrugged, unwilling to admit anything. She glanced around. Now that she was looking, she saw there were more than a few post-its scattered about the bed. "How did these all end up here?" she wondered, shaking her head even as the corners of her mouth tilted up.

"We were in a hurry. Must've fallen out of my pocket when you tore my clothes off." Castle smirked at her affronted expression until she smirked and looked coyly at him.

"You know I prefer you naked, Castle."

He tilted her head so he could brush his lips against hers, his fingers drifting over her jaw, but they were smiling too much to make it last. Beckett reached down to drag the comforter over their now-cool bodies, grabbing at the few notes that came to within arms reach as she did so. Glancing through them, she felt her face get warm at the onslaught of emotion, both nostalgic and expectant, bubbling up in her chest. She hid her face quietly against his chest for a moment.

"Tonight was great, Castle. Really sweet." Flipping through her little pile she corrected, "Well, not all sweet. Also a little dirty."

She held one up for him to see.

_You taste amazing_

Castle laughed like he had when he first handed her that one over diner, eyes shining. He wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulders. "Also true," he nodded.

"Really sweet," she repeated, "even if there is no such thing as a nine-month anniversary."

"Actually," Castle sat up a little straighter, pulling her up with him, "it wasn't so much about the length of time we've been together."

Beckett snorted. "That's all you have been talking about all day!"

Castle murmured assent, but he was smiling about something. "Right. But it's not like we've only known each other for nine months. We've been basically dating for years."

Beckett gave him a funny look, but didn't argue. "What, then?"

"Here, you missed one." He casually pulled a note off of the comforter and handed it to her. The handoff was a little sloppy, though, and the little note fluttered away off the side of the bed.

"Hey, wait," Beckett muttered to it, leaning awkwardly off the bed to grab for it. She grappled for a moment before heaving herself back up to her original position. When she opened it, her jaw dropped.

_Will you marry me?_

"Cas..." she only managed half of the word, staring at the carefully written words and reading them again. And again after that. When she looked up to meet his gaze she found herself staring instead at the ring he was holding up between them.

"Rick." His name was a puff of air blowing out from her lips. And then she said the first thing that occurred to her. "Has this been just waiting around for me to find it all night?"

Castle laughed, but she could see the nerves seeping through in the quirk of his head and the uneven expansion of his naked chest. His adams apple bobbed dramatically. "The ring or the note?" he asked shakily. "Ah, never mind. The answer to both is no. Unless you mean have I had them all night, and then yes. But, not for you to happen upon. I was waiting, you know. For a moment. Or, something. I can't remember," he concluded hastily. He frowned.

"Kate, you haven't said yes."

"I know, it's just so unexpected. I didn't... expect it." Beckett watched his frown deepen, and rushed to gather her thoughts. "But it's good."

"Good?"

"Yes."

"Yes, like, yes you want to marry me?" He looked equal parts confused and hopeful.

"No." When his face fell, she shook her head and turned to face him completely. "I don't mean no. I'm just..." she put a hand on his chest and smiled at him broadly. Castle smiled back, though hesitantly.

"You do know how this works, right?" Then his expression changed to disappointment. "Oh! You wanted something bigger, didn't you? A grand gesture? Damn, it," he muttered, dragging his free hand through his hair while the hand holding the ring trembled and dropped away a few inches. "I should have known."

"_No_. This is perfect. I was just surprised." Beckett breathed in deeply, and smiled again. She smoothed her hands through his hair and over his cheeks. Suddenly the nervous surprise she had felt melted away, leaving only the strongest certainty she had ever felt. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. When she pulled back, she grinned and said, "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, Castle. I would love to marry you."

He grinned, pulling her closer with one hand and kissed her deeply. Pulling back slightly he nudged her nose with his. "I'm so glad. You had me worried."

"I'm sorry," she breathed. Then she grinned again. She couldn't seem to stop with this man. "We're getting married." After a minute of gazing at him, she sat back. "Give me my ring, Castle."

"Oh, right!" He took her left hand in both of his and slid the ring onto her finger. They both stared at it with equal expressions of near disbelief.

"I can't believe this is happening," Beckett murmured, her smile so wide it almost hurt.

"I can," Castle grinned. "And I can't wait to tell everyone."

"You know when we tell this story, we're going to have to lie and say we were wearing clothes, right?"

.

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..(end)..

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**A/N: **Thanks so much for reading. I hope you liked it! Love reviews, and I like constructive criticism _almost _as much, so have at it. :)


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