Flavors

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone in regards to Castle; the show and its characters belong to a bunch of people who aren't me. I am merely borrowing the characters for my own amusement. Dance puppets, dance.

Author's Note: This little idea came to me on Saturday night, and I managed to write this in 40 minutes. I love when the characters cooperate! Much love to my fellow Nathan fangirl, EllipsesBandit for the beta work. She's all kinds of awesome.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I was-um-uh…you were so—and I…you, uh left, so I um…thought maybe, uh, you wanted some space," Rick stammered. "Not that that's a bad thing!"

"I may be mad at you, but that doesn't mean I want you to leave!" Kate admitted.

Furrowing his brow, he asked, "So you leave me standing alone, and you go to your bedroom, and shut the door…and I'm supposed to stay?"

"I didn't shut the door completely!"

"And that means I should stay?"

"Yes!" She realized how ridiculous she sounded. And Rick realized it too, because he stared at her like she had three heads. Sighing, Kate rested her head against the door frame. "Look I know I sound like a crazy person, but can you just come in here?"

Nodding, Rick went into her bedroom. Sure, she'd left him standing there with no clear direction as to how to proceed next, but that didn't mean he could leave! That wasn't allowed! She'd nearly had a panic attack when she'd heard his shoes squeak toward her front door.

He toed off his shoes before taking off his jacket. He slowly climbed on the bed next to her, leaving several inches of space between them. The silence weighed down on the two of them as they stared at everything but each other. For Kate, she couldn't stop thinking about Slutty McSluttster attacking Rick with her big, stupid boobs in his face; stupid woman with her curvy body, full lips, and no scars.

Kate knew this relationship wasn't going to be easy; Rick would still be a giant pain in the ass and she would still be somewhat emotionally withdrawn.

Still. Bracing one's self for difficulties wasn't the same as experiencing them.

They never showed that in the movies. No one ever seemed to have real problems. Any problem was solved within two hours and the onscreen couple lived happily ever after.

Snorting, Kate shook her head at that thought. Rick looked up at the sound with his eye brow raised.

"You know," she started. "I was just thinking how much I hate romantic comedies right now."

"Why?"

"You're just supposed to assume that it will smooth sailing for the couple at the end of the movie. Which is not true! I mean, you think Linus and Sabrina didn't have their share of problems after he followed her to Paris. I'm sure Linus didn't change his closed off ways over night."

"Very true. I'm sure Kathleen Kelly was still angry at Joe Fox for her book store closing."

"And even though Vivian Ward was a beautiful, it's not as if Edward Lewis would never check out another woman again."

At that, Rick stared at the photos on the wall. "Yeah, but it's not like he'd do anything with those other women."

After a long moment of silence, he murmured, "I'm sorry."

She sighed. "I know you're not responsible for the Whore of New York City mauling you. I'm sorry for that petty comment."

Shaking his head, Rick turned on his side to face her. "No, not that. Well, yes that. But I'm just sorry about my past.

Pushing up on her elbow, Kate's mouth dropped open. "What in the world are you talking about?!"

Rick took a deep breath. "Kate, I know you know my dating history. I wasn't exactly secretive about all my…dates." He spit out the last word as if he didn't like the taste of it. Looking down, he picked at an imaginary thread. "I know I had a lot of flavors at Baskins Robbins, and I can understand why you think I'd want to try yet another flavor of the week."

Scooting closer, he laid a hand on her cheek. "But I waited four years to try the very delicious, ultimate chocolate, peanut butter, s'morelette frozen yogurt covered in nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream with lots and lots of cherries. And there's no way I'm going to pass that up for a run of the mill vanilla."

It would be sweet if she wasn't so grossed out. "Seriously? I'm chocolate, peanut butter, and s'morelette flavor?"

He shrugged. "It's all the wonderful things in the world. And I want to keep enjoying the flavor as long as I possibly can."

Kate looked down at her fingers. She really was being silly. This was the man that waited around four years for her wall to fall down. This was the man who begged her to spend the night at his loft after Martha and Alexis left for Europe so they could reenact their first morning after because he felt guilty for hiding her in the closet. He really was…

"Would it help if I said yours are the only boobs I want in my face?"

…a man. Richard Castle was nothing more than a typical man; a typical man who was also childish, goofy, and sweet. And most importantly hers.

Throwing her head back, she barked out a laugh. "Is that really a compliment?"

"It is if it's true."

She snuggled back into him, finally giving into the kiss she desperately wanted earlier. "Well, I'm not so sure about that."

Before she knew what was happening, Kate was pinned under Rick, him nuzzling into neck, making her giggle. "How about a demonstration then?" he suggested.