A/N: This is an AU Caskett meeting, set sometime in mid to late season 4. In this world, Kate hasn't been shot nor has she made any of the extra progress on her mother's case.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or the characters used in this story.

Written for ( _MissKM_) who prompted me on twitter. Prompt will follow at the end.

Kava

Kava (Croatian) – Coffee

Sprinting down a wet, snow covered side walk in heels is Kate Beckett's least favorite thing to do. Running late is her first, but starting her day without her favorite cup of coffee is absolutely not an option. She'll drink the terrible tasting coffee at the precinct once she gets there, but her first cup is of utter importance to the start of her day.

She stops short outside the door of her usual favorite coffee shop. It's still a coffee shop but the name is different. She could have sworn it still had the same name when she bought her coffee yesterday morning, but as long as it's still a coffee shop with a menu containing her favorite order; the name doesn't really matter to her.

She steps inside the small shop, shaking the excess snow off her boots and takes in the long line in front of her. With a small sigh she sends a quick text to her partner, letting him know that she'll be there as soon as she can. Thankfully there was no body drop this morning, all that awaits her at her desk in the middle of the Twelfth Precinct is a stack of paperwork.

The line slowly moves forward and she takes notice of several other patrons she usually sees in the shop. Seems the name is the only thing that has changed about the place. At least that's what she thinks until she sees the man behind the counter.

He's definitely someone she's never seen before, because she would have remembered that face. He's tall, dressed in a black t-shirt with a green apron thrown over it. She can't see his bottom half but if the muscular arms that spill from the sleeves of his t-shirt are any indication, she's sure the rest of him would be no disappointment.

He catches her eye when he looks up to take the next order and she's pretty sure she blushes under his lingering gaze. Add gorgeous eyes to the list of things she's already decided she likes about him, a piercing deep blue that reminds of her of the ocean.

The closer she gets to the front of the line, the more she decides that she likes the changes to her favorite coffee shop. She's still about ten people away from the front when a young redhead steps out of the back and takes over for him at the register. He steps to the side and motions for her to come forward. Kate glances around to be sure he meant her before she steps out of line and up to the counter.

"Hi, I'm Rick," he offers his hand to her from across the counter.

She takes his hand, offering a smile in return. "I haven't seen you here before," she responds.

"Yeah, I just bought the place from the Fisher's. Kept everything but the name the same."

She glances at the new sign that rests above the counter, reads the name out loud as she does.

"Kava."

"Yes, it means coffee in Croatian," he explains.

"I like the name, Rick."

"Thank you, uh—Detective Beckett is it?"

She frowns before confirming. "How did you –"

"The Fisher's told me about most of their regulars. You were apparently one of their favorites and they told me you're usually in a hurry. Oh," he exclaims as he reaches behind him and turns to hand her the cup he just picked up."

"Grande skim latte, two pumps of sugar free vanilla, right?" he asks as she takes the cup from him.

"Mhmm," she answers as she brings the cup to her lips and tastes the sweet, hot liquid. Somehow it tastes even better than it usually does.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her credit card, but when she tries to hand it to him, he shakes his head.

"First one's on the house. Consider it a 'nice to meet you' cup."

"Thank you, Rick," she replies as she pulls out her phone and checks the time. "I better go, already running late."

The flash of his smile makes him even more appealing and she finds herself grinning back.

"It was lovely meeting you, Detective, I hope to see you again."

"You can count on it."

She finds herself turning back to smile at him again before she heads out the door of the shop.

She doesn't have time to stop at Kava the next morning, an early body drop on the other side of town causing more than one problem for her. It's a gruesome scene and her new partner has already started to get on her nerves before they even make it to the precinct. She's not even sure why her Captain felt the need to assign her a partner, she was doing just fine on her own.

She's in the process of rolling her eyes when she spots the cup of coffee on her desk and she knows that cup before she even tastes the sweet liquid inside it. She glances around to see other members of her team drinking out of the same cups.

"Where did these come from?" she asks Ryan when he walks over to where she's standing with a ballistics report in his hand.

"Um, a guy named Rick dropped them off a few minutes ago, said he owned the Kava coffee shop."

She reaches for her own cup, smiling when the sweet vanilla flavor bursts onto her tongue. How did Rick know this is exactly what she needed?

She makes it to the coffee shop that evening just before it closes. It's already empty except for Rick, who's cleaning with his back turned to her when she steps into the shop. He turns when the bell above the door rings and the moment he sees her that same smile from a few days before splits his face.

"Detective Beckett," he greets her as she comes to stand in front of the counter.

"I just wanted to thank you for the coffee today. We have coffee at the precinct, but nothing starts my day off like the coffee here. That was really sweet of you."

"It was nothing really," he answers and nods towards the espresso machine. "I haven't cleaned it yet, would you care to have a cup with me before I close up?"

She finds herself nodding her answer before she's really had a chance to consider his question. Well, a cup of coffee with a handsome man does sound better than sitting alone at her apartment.

He carries their mugs around the counter and motions towards a small table in the corner of the shop. When she sinks down into the chair he's pulled out for her she notices the heart shape on the top of her drink. She stares at him for a minute before reaching for the mug and taking a sip.

"This is really good."

"This one is my specialty, but I only share it with special people, Detective."

She sees the spark in his eye when he says the word special, feels the butterflies as they erupt in her stomach. It has been a long time since she met someone, even longer since she let herself consider dating. But something about Rick is different; something about him makes her brave.

"Kate," she replies, taking another sip of the hot liquid.

He looks confused until she clarifies, "You can call me, Kate."

"Okay, Kate. I'd like to get to know you, if that's something you would be interested in."

She smiles, reaches for the ring that rests against her chest when it seems to burn against her skin.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

Prompt: AU First time Kate sees Castle, she realizes how emotionally invested she is in making their relationship work out.

Would love to hear your thoughts! xo