"Really, this was in fashion in the 90's?" Beret-wearing Castle said, as he flung her turquoise and black striped scarf over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I used to rock that in school with my Doc Martens," Kate replied with a hint of sass, as she waved an old, well-used frying pan in the air.
Castle pointed toward the pan. "You do realize we have a full range of All-Clad at home."
"Except this one's my favorite. My Nona use to make me scrambled eggs in it when I was little."
Castle nodded. "Gotcha." He grabbed some books from the shelf in her kitchen and placed them in a moving box.
Kate turned back toward the kitchen island and began to cover the beloved pan in plastic bubble wrap. "Okay, so I'm going to leave the rest of this kitchen stuff here for when my cousin Sophia moves in."
He placed another stack of books in the box. "You know, I'm really going to miss this place."
She turned toward him. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, I know that the floors creak, and we can hear everything Mr. Kubiak does in his bathroom," he gestured down the hall toward her bedroom. "But we've had some really wonderful times here, Kate. Made a lot of great memories."
She smiled. "Yes, we have."
Castle finished loading the books from the shelf into the box and grabbed the packaging tape to secure the box shut. "I remember the first time I came here."
She immediately acknowledged the moment. "You brought me flowers."
He smiled. "Yes. I was so nervous."
She laughed. "I remember."
"And I was so in love with you."
"I know"
"You did?"
"I didn't know then, but I know now how much you loved me. I just didn't have the ability to see it at the time."
"I was so afraid to tell you how I felt."
"So was I."
"I know. But there were ways you showed me how you felt without telling me."
"Really? Like what?"
"Like this." He laced his fingers through hers and led her over to the window in her living room. He let go of her hand so he could use both of his to open the shutters. "The first time I came here you showed me the murder board you had created on this window."
"And?"
"And you told me you hadn't showed it to Josh. I knew that whatever you and Dr. Motorcycle Boy had, you weren't sharing the most important parts of your life with him, but you were with me."
She laughed. "I haven't heard you say that name in a long time."
"Josh?"
"No, Dr. Motorcycle Boy. You really hated him."
He scoffed. "You have no idea. We probably had some of our most heated discussions about him in this apartment."
She chuckled. "Discussions? Is that what you're calling them?"
"Fine. Arguments. You're a very stubborn woman, Kate." He leaned over and kissed her. "But you're worth every second."
Castle took Kate by the hand again and led her toward the bedroom. "Let me show you another way you expressed your love to me in this apartment."
"Castle," she joked, "if this memory involves handcuffs and my headboard, I think you're mistaking love for lust."
He smiled. "It's not that."
They crossed the threshold and stopped in front of her dresser. He didn't even need to explain when he opened the now-empty top drawer.
"I gave you a drawer," she said softly
"You gave me much more than that, Kate. You've given me your heart, your life, my life."
She turned toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a kiss on his cheek. "What do you say we make one more memory here, Mr. Castle?"
He waggled his eyebrows. "What do you have in mind, Mrs. Castle?"
She kissed his lips and began unbuttoning his shirt. As they stumbled forward and tumbled onto the bed, the floor creaked and she laughed.
"You never said anything about the creaky floors before."
"It doesn't matter now, you're moving out." He kissed her. "We're starting a new chapter of our story."
As he moved to kiss her again, her phone rang. He dropped his head to her chest with a sigh. "Figures."
She placed the phone to her ear to answer the call from the precinct.
"Beckett."
XXXXXXXXX
After Kate signed the paperwork and sent the mover on his way with her last load of boxes, she turned to take one final look through the place that had been her refuge for over four years. Castle was waiting at home for her, but she got a huge grin on her face when she realized that there was one last thing she needed to do before she said her final goodbye.
Kate lowered the carving tool and carefully brushed the bits of wood shavings from her freshly-carved initials in the wooden post of her loft. She smiled at her work, knowing that a part of her would always be in this place she had called home. She stood up and walked toward the door, only to run right smack into her husband, who was rushing through the doorway.
"Castle?! What are you doing here?"
He held up the bottle of wine in his hand. "I didn't want you to do this alone. I wanted to be here to share this with you."
She smiled. "That's really sweet."
They walked over to the kitchen where Kate pulled two wine glasses from the cabinet while Castle grabbed a corkscrew from the drawer and opened the wine. She placed the goblets on the counter next to her husband and he poured the crimson liquid into them. He handed one to her and then took the other. She slowly swirled the wine around in her glass before looking up into his eyes. "It's hard to say goodbye to this place."
"I know. But don't worry," he reassured her. "We're never getting rid of this apartment for good. It holds too much meaning for us. This is the place where you rebuilt your life…where you solved your mother's murder," he leaned over and softly kissed her. "Where we fell in love…"
"Technically, I think we fell in love at the Precinct."
He playfully placed a finger over her lips. "Just go with it, Kate."
She smiled as he dropped his finger. "Thank you."
"For what?" He replied.
"For giving us one last memory here."
He kissed her. "You're welcome."
Kate smiled and raised her glass of wine to his. She took a long, slow look around the place and then made her toast. "To the best apartment ever."
Castle's glass met hers with a soft clink and he repeated her words.
"To the best apartment ever."