This, at the moment, is all I've written for this but with any luck this will be a series of linked oneshots of their life together. I have a lot of ideas for these two, but it also wouldn't hurt if some of my readers send me suggestions for future oneshots. Thanks for reading!
Kate Beckett awoke shivering, unsure of her surroundings. She blinked away the bright light shining in through the window as the memories of last night's activities came rushing back to her. The fight with Maddox, nearly falling from a building, the rain, and Castle. Mostly Castle. She examined her surroundings, taking in the details of his room that she missed last night. She smiled at the picture of her and Castle on the nightstand. They were at the Old Haunt, staring into each other's eyes. It made her think back to that day, which felt like so long ago, before things got so complicated. Before the shooting and the secrets and the lies. It was just Kate and Rick, happy to just be near each other.
A loud crash from the kitchen broke her from her reverie. She grabbed Castle's shirt from yesterday and put it on, tiptoeing out to where Castle was undoubtedly making breakfast. She smiled when she caught a glance of him at the stove, flipping pancakes.
"Something smells good," she said, smiling as he jumped at the sound of her voice.
"Kate! You're supposed to be sleeping. I was gonna bring you breakfast in bed."
She smiled, stepping towards him. "That's really sweet Castle. Nobody's done that for me in a long time."
He met her halfway, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and pressing his lips lightly to hers. "Anything for you, Kate. I love you."
She smiled and looked down as tears began pooling in her eyes. She stepped back, out of his arms, refusing to look up.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, panic showing in his voice as his mind automatically crafted every worst case scenario that could possibly happen.
"I can't say it yet, Castle. I want to, I really do, but I-"
"Hey," he said, cutting her off and gently lifting her chin, "Don't. I know, okay? You're scared. Not of commitment, but of the unknown. You don't know if I'll break your heart. You don't know if I'll be around for the long haul. And you don't want to say those three little words until you know. But, Kate, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. I'm in this for good. During one of our first cases together, you told me that you wanted a one and done. I want to be that for you. I want to marry you someday, Kate. You're stuck with me."
A tear fell down her cheek, and he wiped it away gently, wrapping her with his arms again. A small smile grew on her face, and she kissed him. It wasn't fierce and passionate like it had been the night before, but slow and gentle. She poured all of those feelings she couldn't voice into that kiss, trying to convey how much she really did love Richard Castle.
"Do you smell something burning?" she asked, breaking away.
"I forgot about the pancakes!" he said, rushing back over to the stove.
"While you sort those out, I'm gonna go shower." She said, turning back toward the bedroom.
"Wait."
"Why?" she said, turning back.
"That's one of my fantasies."
"You have fantasies about me." It wasn't a question.
"Have you even read my books? And don't pretend you never had any fantasies about me."
She gave him a mischievous smile. "Well, you coming, Castle?"
He quickly turned the stove off and left the food forgotten on the countertop, scrambling after the woman he loved.
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