OK guys so...my second fan fiction! My track record isn't very good with updating and word-count and that, but lucky for you this is a one-shot, so you won't have to wait for more :) I hope it's not too cheesy or confusing with my use of pronouns or I use too many small words etc. etc. And as most writers do, I like reviews. If you review this story, I can get better at writing! I don't care if you say it's good or bad, just I'll be happy to know what people (other than my Mum) think of my writing! So ta loveys, here it is.

Oh yeah and before I forget, I don't own Castle :/

Richard Castle walked from the kitchen, where he'd set his empty coffee mug, to join Kate Beckett on the couch. They had had a busy day following false leads and it had tired them both physically and emotionally. He plonked down onto the fake red suede and they sat in silence for a few minutes just enjoying having landed for the night, and being together. But there was something Castle wanted to say that had been nagging at the back of his brain every spare moment he had with the woman he loved. He turned to her, overcoming the lump in his throat.

"Do you know what I thought when I first met you?" The woman slowly shook her head, frowning a little as to where this was going. "That you were the mystery I was never going to solve. And to this day, I am still amazed… by your inner strength." She had leant her head to the side with her right hand splaying out her hair, still with her slight frown. "Your heart." She smiled. "And your hotness." Her form moved with a single laugh.

"You're not so bad yourself."

They had called each other 'hot'. As they stared into each other's eyes, their smiles slowly wiped off their faces as the tension increased in the room. Finally, Kate looked away, always the one to run from these situations. "I should go… It's late." She got up, making her way towards her room. Before she closed the door Castle called her name.

"Kate."

"Goodnight, Castle." Her expression before closing that door was a window to her soul. Castle could tell she was scared, and conflicted, and nervous. Scared of feeling something so intensely as she did for this man, her unorthodox shadow, but not for her surgeon-motorcyclist boyfriend.

The bedroom door closed but Castle could tell she was still behind that metal: there was still way too much tension in the room for it to have just ended like that—it was almost a given that Kate would come back out again. He almost expected her to change her mind once she was out and say something like 'I forgot my bag'. But still, Richard Castle watched the doorknobs intently as he stood up, waiting for a re-entrance of the woman.

And then there was that movement, that swinging on its hinges and Kate walking out again, still looking uncertain. But she didn't cover up by saying she left her bag on the lounge—she did the unexpected. A certain kind of fierce resolve came over her as she marched up to the man in front of her. She didn't slap him—the opposite—she grabbed his head and pulled him down to kiss her. He was shocked (he had anticipated an argument), but then came the joy, then the arousal. He responded by wrapping his arms around her hip and her back, pulling her as close to him as possible. Their breaths mingled as their tongues fought a fierce war. Their hands roamed, Kate's over his face and through his hair and Castle's over her back. This was even steamier than their first kiss. There was no one's life depending on a decoy. Their first kiss had become something obviously more as the kiss had progressed, but they had been under pressure nonetheless. Now, though, it had started out of hot-wired emotions, and by none other than Kate herself! Their quiet moans only turned the other on more, but when Kate started at Castle's shirt buttons he came some way back down to Earth.

"Kate," he began, trying to find an interval in which to speak.

"Castle," she moaned, not realising his intentions. He had to grab her hands.

"Kate, stop. We can't do this." Her face fell as she was hurt by his words. He saw this and quickly reworded. "Oh, no, Kate, there would be nothing I would like more than to let you continue with your… handiwork." He smirked, lightening the mood with his ever-present wit. "But you are not single. I would hate for you to feel guilty about sleeping with me because you had cheated on Motorcycle Boy."

For once, she didn't correct him on his patronising nickname for her boyfriend. But a fact was still a fact: Josh was still her boyfriend. She had thought she'd had a chance with him, but now she was realising that he couldn't compare to Richard Castle. He was never there for her, and Castle forced himself into her personal space. She was only just coming to terms with the fact that she… she loved her partner. She was scared of this, but it also came as a kind of relief, that she could feel close to someone that was there for her.

She slumped onto the couch, Castle doing the same beside her. They both sighed, ending at the same time and looking sideways at each other. That look told Castle that she understood his good intentions, and that she was thankful he was there to guide her in times of trouble.

"But I'm still sharing your bed."

And with that, Kate Beckett jumped up, tugging his hand as she went across from her door to his bedroom, curling up under the covers on the right side of the bed. He was very surprised, but still complacent to join her. Even though she had taken his side of the bed; the things you do for love!

They were careful to put a distance between them in the King-size bed, both sleeping on their sides facing outwards. But they took comfort in the presence of the other person and fell asleep quite quickly.

One thing they had not counted on was their subconscious thoughts. Neither was a tosser at night, and they had put space between them in a large bed, but their bodies wanted to do something different. As the pair dreamed, they eventually rolled and scooted up to each other so that they were touching, her head resting on his shoulder with hand on chest, and his arms encircling her waist, one hand on her hip. Their legs tangled themselves up like curly hair on a windy day. In the morning they would both think they had had the best sleep in a long time, and Kate would wake up first and just lie there, enjoying the warmth radiating from his skin. Then Castle would come to wake up, pleasantly surprised to find Kate lying half on top of him. They would do nothing intimate from there, but one thing was for sure: they couldn't go back to their oblivious state like before. Their relationship had been altered. The game had been changed.