The ability to speak

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Thank you to honeyandvodka, for taking the voices in my head and making sense of them!

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The (happier) sequel to Unspoken. Occurs in a far off Universe where Still was the Season Five finale, and this occurs in May

(although not an engagement piece).

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Disclaimer: The words maybe, the rest; Not mine!

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"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please tell me you got the message I left?" As Kate enters the loft, her eyes make an automatic sweep of the premises and they can't help but widen as she takes in the low light. With so many candles flickering throughout the spacious apartment, it's a noticeable change in the décor, and it leaves her pausing mid gaze.

"Castle?" The worry in her voice is slight but still detectable and she forces herself to take a deep breath. The early indifference over the fact that he hadn't acknowledged her text is colliding with the abnormal stillness of the room and it's leaving her slightly adrift.

"Castle?" Her hand reaches behind her back, and the feel of her cold metal Glock brings everything into sharp focus.

"Hey" Castle's voice is steady and strong through the bedroom door and as he strolls through the opening, his relaxed movements have an instantaneous effect on Kate. Dropping her right hand in a semi awkward wave, her face relaxes into an easy grin.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late." The grin is quickly morphing into a full blown smile as she takes him in; the sharp black suit almost hides the crisp white shirt, and it leaves her breath slightly stilted. As he moves in close, her hand travels of its own accord; caressing the coordinating tie until her fingers reach his skin and she can gently scratch her nails along his neck. Damn, the need to drag his body into hers is hard to deny on an average day; dressed like this and she is already tilting towards the nearest horizontal surface.

Horizontal, vertical, rough, smooth; they've never really been particular about the how and where.

"It's ok, I saw that you were stuck and planned accordingly." His words break into the fantasy that has taken a hold and she has to physically stop herself from shuddering.

"Thanks. Sorry it got crazy."

"All sorted now?"

"Yeah. Nothing but you for at least the next eight hours, I promise." She has had to pull some favours with Esposito to make sure he would follow up on the loose ends, but she has had an off feeling for the last week or so; there's been an air of apprehension surrounding Castle of late and she is determined to get to the bottom of it tonight, speak the words that need to be spoken.

"Well in that case, how about you take a moment to decompress and slip into something a bit more. . ." His sentence tapers off, as he steps back slightly. Dark eyes skim her body slowly until they come to a stop at her heels. The slow perusal has her body humming again, and as his gaze moves back to lock with hers, there's a strong chance that the door is about as far as they are going to make it tonight.

Focus. There's things that need to be said tonight. Words. Subtext and heated body language is going to have to take a back seat. Bringing forth the lightness she wants to feel, Kate asks, "Am I dressing to match?"

"Mmmmm." His eyes are drifting again. "Yeah. I do remember a certain promise of you in black silk."

"Ohhhh." Focus. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?" As his gaze hovers lower then might be appropriate, she clears her throat and watches as his eyes quickly dart back up to meet her own. "I would hate to go back on a promise. So, how much time to I have?"

"You, ahhhh. . ." She watches as his tongue does a quick trip across his lips. "You have all the time in the world. But if you can do it all in thirty minutes or so, I can get ready accordingly."

She does a quick check list in her head and nods "Yeah, I can do that. Are we going out?" The thought of having a 'deep and meaningful' in the middle of somewhere fancy enough to require that suit, leaves her slightly cold.

The shake of his head causes some of his beautiful hair to flop forward. "No, tonight I am keeping you all to myself." She chuckles faintly as she threads her fingers through it and in the process pushes it back into place.

"Really, you're going to turn me into a kept woman?" She begins to laugh harder at her own joke, yet suddenly. . .

"I'll keep you." Castle speaks evenly, his tone reinforcing the words, and it leaves her breathless. This is it, an opening, an opportunity to move forward, move them forward.

"I'm going to go get ready for our date night." Her hesitant smile hides the disappointment she feels in herself. Shit, how hard is it to just open ones mouth and actually say what wants to be said. What she needs to say.

He moves around the kitchen with a confidence he does not feel, still kicking himself over his previous stumble. He repeats his speech again in his head, the words that he has been rehashing and rehearsing for over a week now make their usual loop. He nearly blew it all straight to hell earlier, getting too serious, too quickly. The last thing Kate would appreciate is an ambush.

His knows that it has to be tonight. Knows that Kate Beckett of all people can smell when something is off. And as careful as he has been about his decision to move them forward, her lingering looks of late have been inquiring; filled with worry.

Hearing the sound of heels echoing through the loft, Castle raises his head and reminds himself to breathe.

The sight of her; the knowledge that she is walking towards him, leaves him speechless. The smooth lines of the exquisite black silk dress only enhance the phenomenon that is Kate Beckett. It's a sight he knows he will never tire of, and as she moves closer, his carefully orchestrated evening nearly goes out the window.

Window. Flat surface. Kate in that dress. Yeah he's screwed.

"Wow, Castle you have really outdone yourself this time. This is amazing. I thought you were going to spend the day writing?" Her voice is bursting with amazement, and he turns and sees it all through her eyes. The table set correctly. The flowers as dressing. Even the place cards.

"I did. Look." Reaching forward, Castle plucks hers off the table and turns it so she can read. Kate Beckett is scrawled artistically across the folded cardboard.

"I'm sure that helped your word count!" He matches her smile and they both pause for a second. Standing still, taking this moment in.

- Focus. - This is it.

"Mmmm, don't remind me. But seriously, it didn't take much time and you are worth it." Damn. The words that were so close to the surface slither away and he can almost see them disappear into the space between them.

Smiling and apparently unaware of his inner turmoil, Kate takes the card from between his fingers and places it gently back into its position. Sitting herself down, she questions. "So what is on the menu tonight?"

Moving back towards the kitchen, Castle raises his voice a fraction and proceeds to get their meal. "Well after your text I decided on a lovely vegetable lasagne. . . that keeps well."

"I am sorry about that Castle." At her hesitant tone, he replays his previous sentence through his mind and realises his error.

"Kate, any other day I would be right there with you, so believe me when I say: It's ok!" Stressing each word carefully he can only hope she hears his honesty. It really is ok; this is the life they lead and he meant what he said; normally he would have been there by her side. Deadly Heat has been taking a bit more of his attention of late, but that too will resolve itself. Once he finishes writing it; that is.

Placing their meals down, he seats himself at the head of the table, allowing their knees to kiss softly underneath.

"I know, and thanks. I just don't want you to think that I don't appreciate all this, because I do Castle." He loses focus on what he was going to say as she glides her fingers over his. Watches as they weave and interlock. Appreciates how they become one.

Opening his mouth slightly, he can feel it. This is it. Yet as she begins painting lazy circles across the top of his hand, his words dissolve, as does his ability to form coherent thoughts. "I know that too," is all he can manage.

"Seriously Castle, that was fantastic." Kate leans back in her chair and almost regrets the fact that she is in this dress. Almost, because she is rather certain he lost the plot there for a little while, when she walked in earlier.

"Don't tell me there is no room for dessert, Beckett?" His teasing tone and the use of her last name, hints that he has something up his sleeve. Beckett's such a rare occurrence these days while at home. Correction, while at his home.

And there it lies, her mental opportunity to take the bull by the horns, to right this wrong, to - Geez, when did her inner monologue start sounding like him -

At Castle's expectant look, she realises she has been quiet for too long.

"Ahhhh, well I suppose since you cooked dinner, the least that I could do would be to handle dessert."

She realises the opening that her words have created, as soon as his trademark smirk appears "Really, dessert's on you, is it?"

Well two can play at that game. . . "Ha, keep dreaming darlin'!" She has very little use for pet names, but the emphasis on this particular one is strategic and as Castle's eyes begin to darken, she has him right where she wants him.

"You know." Shifting topic entirely. "There is one very big downfall with this loft."

"Huh?" His confusion is evident, and only gets worse as she rises elegantly from her chair. Twirling slowly, Kate makes a point of inspecting the interior carefully.

"Yeah, I mean, the windows are spectacular." She can't help but notice as his eyes suddenly darken with desire again. "The fire place so functional." By now she has steadily moved away from the dining area and is half way across the room. Kate suspects he has no idea where she is going with this, as he remains almost entrenched within his seat. "And damn if the walls made of books don't turn me on more than just a little." She fondly admires all the masterpieces which fill the space, takes a moment to smile as her eyes settle on his. "But yeah, there's one big downfall . . ."

"Ah . . . what? I mean you don't like it here?" His words interrupt her momentum, and one look at his face tells her she may have gone too far. His features appear as if they are set in stone, his large frame seems to be struggling to take in breath. Shit, too far.

"Like it, no, I love it here. And as I was saying, there are lots of admirable qualities that the loft has, all except one." Her heels leave the large rug and create a steady back ground noise to her words. He remains silent as he continues to watch her relocation across the room. Taking one last deep breath, she's almost there. "Yeah, lack of walls. But." She almost bites her tongue along with the t. "You are lucky though."

"I am?" Her previous tone seems to have awoken Castle. Rising from his chair, he takes one hesitant step towards her.

"Mmmmm, lucky, cause despite the lack of vertical walls, you do have very sturdy, very hard . . . doors." All it takes now is one last step backwards, and she can feel the front door's surface along her posterior. She can only imagine what she must look like to him, but if the way he is moving across the area that divides them is any indication, it must be good.

"Oh yeah, I do, don't I? Do you like my doors?" Castle's movements are almost predator-like by now, each stride a purposeful transfer of his weight. Kate can feel her control of the situation slipping slightly and decides to pull out the big guns.

"No. There's no like about it. I love your doors."

In one swift motion, it's all lost. Her plan to voice the words that have been swirling through her mind since she packed her suitcase last month, gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Along with any ability to form coherent thoughts.

His brain has finally caught up with hers, and with one fluid move of his hands, the black silk skirt that has teased him all night is raised, crushed between them, elevated above her waist. He can feel her legs glide higher, settling around his. Heels dig sharply into his thighs. His upper torso pushes forward, locking her between himself and the door she seems so very fond of.

That they both are so very fond of.

As his lips begin to trail open mouthed kisses along the impressive arch of her neck, his hands slide smoothly to cup her ass and hurl her more firmly against himself.

"Move in with me?"

Everything stops, hands that were working steadily on his buttoned shirt. Her lips that had been teasing his ear. Everything stops but her erratic breathing.

Over a weeks' worth of speech writing and preparation and he fucking blurts the words while doing his best at. . . Well. Shit.

He has to step up now though. The words are out. Damage needs to be assessed.

Pulling his head back slightly he searches for her gaze only to find it happily awaiting his.

"Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting for you to ask me that?"

Confused entirely by her reaction, he attempts to pull back more. Apparently though Kate is not having a bar of it, and her thighs contract firmly, holding him in place.

"You've been waiting for me to ask?" He searches days, weeks and months of memories, trying to pinpoint the clues indicating that she was ready. That she was waiting.

"Yeah, I mean. This is your place, and Alexis', and Martha's. And as much as I wanted to ask, to say the words. I figured . . ." The rest of her sentence tapers off as she looks down between them, appearing almost embarrassed over what she has voiced.

Lifting one hand from its grasp on her rear, Castle now uses it to raise her chin. From their position against the door, their eyes are level and he holds them steady.

"I didn't want you to run. I just don't . . ." Shit, where is his speech now. "I've been trying to go at your pace, because I get that this is big, even after a year, this is still big for us, for you."

Her head begins shaking, causing strands of hair to fall and frame her face.

"I love you."-her words come alive between them-"I am in this Rick." And hell, the use of his first name leaves him for dead. His body rocks forward into hers, their mouths touch, nip, fight to express all that is being said at this moment.

"I love you. I want you here." His words are whispered into the smallest of space between them, yet are so completely crystal clear.

"I'm here. I'm here." She reinforces, before closing the space between them.

Together as one, both having said the words that needed to be spoken.

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