I LOVED the epicness that was 'Still.' There were so many wonderful things about that episode that it would take thousands of words to describe them all. But I did feel a bit bad for Castle that Kate didn't seem to notice the hearts he had made in her coffee at the beginning of the episode. But then I got to thinking…and this fic was born. I try not to have my stories be less than 1,000 words but for this I just had to make an exception. Hopefully you guys won't mind….

Disclaimer: I wish. But no. It's still in AM's capable hands. And that's where it will stay. Since Kate FINALLY said 'Rick, I love you' I'm okay with that. (How many thought it would be 'Castle, I love you?' I did. Probably because she called him Castle in that epic 'Always' scene.) Even if it was another 'waiting until they were both pretty sure she was going to die' confession. In this case, I'm completely okay with that. After all, Kate doesn't verbalize her emotions very easily; it stands to reason that it would take something big for her to finally say it.

Kate couldn't wait any longer. As soon as Castle shut the door to the loft her lips were on his. Normally she might have been at least a little self-conscious about her actions-after all, it hadn't been a full minute since they had been in the elevator with only the clothes they wore separating them from serious skin to skin contact. But after everything that had happened that day she just couldn't get enough of the man she loved.

A giggle escaped when he swung her up into his arms. Secretly she loved when he acted like this. Actually, she knew it wasn't much of a secret anymore, not to him. She had needlessly threatened him with bodily harm if he let anyone else find out about this side of her. He had merely smiled and said, 'Understood.' They both knew that Castle would never let anyone know about anything she wanted kept just between them.

He had joked about Kate not being able to control herself at the precinct and would have launched into examples if she hadn't interrupted him, but Kate recognized it for what it was: Castle using his defense mechanism of humor in reaction to the emotional onslaught he had been dealing with for the majority of the day. Anything he would have mentioned would have either been common knowledge already or so ridiculous that no one would have believed him.

Kate nuzzled his neck when Castle removed his lips from hers so he could watch where he was going. His arms tightened slightly around her back and knees in response. Smiling, Kate started a series of kisses along the side of his throat.

A soft thud drifted Kate's attention from Castle for a brief moment. Her smile grew wider when she saw that one of the coffee mugs from that morning had been knocked on its side. She must have distracted him just enough for him to bump into the end table by his bed. It was a good thing it was his cup-he must have drank the contents while she had been busy getting ready-because otherwise there would have been quite a mess to clean up. And right now there were much more important things she wanted to focus on.

Until she saw the slight grimace on Castle's face when he saw what she was looking at.

"Castle?"

Castle looked back at her and Kate tried but failed to find any sign of emotion that would explain his reaction. But Castle was surprisingly good at hiding his emotions when he wanted to be.

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course." Kate could tell Castle was genuinely surprised by her question.

Whatever it was couldn't have upset him too much, then.

"It's too bad I didn't have time to enjoy the coffee this morning," Kate said. "Especially since you took the time to make those hearts. You can be so sweet sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Castle's lips twisted in a mock scowl. "I'll have you know-" He sat down on the bed, settling Kate on his lap. "Wait, you noticed?"

So that was it.

"Of course I noticed, Castle. I'm a detective, remember? Noticing the details is what I do."

"Oh. Right."

"Castle." Kate put her hands firmly on his shoulders. "I had to hurry and get to the precinct. But I knew I could spare a couple seconds, so I had to decide between your coffee or you. I chose you."

In as much of a hurry as she had been that morning, Kate hadn't been able to resist the temptation to kiss him again. He had been right-it had seemed like they hadn't seen each other for days. She may be able to eat only one potato chip, but limiting herself to just one Castle kiss was often beyond her capabilities.

"You know how much I look forward to your coffee, Castle. No one can make a cup as good as yours. But you know what?" Castle shook his head and again, Kate couldn't resist the urge to drop a quick kiss on his lips. "As strong as your coffees are, I want something even stronger." She squeezed his left shoulder for emphasis before dropping a kiss there. "And your coffees have the perfect hint of sweetness, but I prefer something even sweeter."

This time the kiss was soft and slow. Kate took the time to get the full effect of the taste of Castle's lips, taking first his top lip and dragging her tongue across it before doing the same for his bottom lip. When he parted his lips Kate leisurely ran her tongue over every part of the inside of his mouth, delighting in all the various tastes and textures. The slight roughness of the roof of his mouth. The smooth hardness of his teeth. The silkiness of the inside of his cheek. All of it made her desire burn hotter. Speaking of hot…

Kate almost dismissed the idea as too much, except that she knew that his writer's mind would appreciate it. She pulled back just enough to whisper against his lips. "You make sure that my coffee is nice and hot, and there are times I really wonder how you accomplish that." Castle opened his mouth-to explain, Kate would guess-but he stopped when Kate's hands made her way down his chest until she reached the hem of his shirt. In a quick move she whipped it up and over his head and tossed it, not caring where it landed. "But as hot as your coffees are, I'm in the mood for something even hotter…."

Kate knew that the whole thing had been incredibly sappy. But she didn't care. After a day like they had just had, she needed sappy.

They both did.