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Passion unattended is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

~Kahlil Gibran

He's waiting next to her front door when she gets off the elevator.

The sight of him sets her heart racing, relief pounding through her veins with each beat. They haven't spoken in three days. Not since the night they'd shouted at each other over the phone, the two hundred miles of earth between them fracturing, a chasm spreading wide and threatening to swallow them whole.

He'd been pissed that she had to cancel another weekend, the third one in as many months, barely restrained fury shading his words. She tried to explain, the ring around her finger clacking noisily against the back of her phone as she'd paced, telling him it was out of her hands, her control. It was the job.

Of course it's the job, Beckett. It always is. You'll never pick me.

She can't remember everything that came after. Accusations and recriminations, angry words and tense silences. They'd finally stalled at one in the morning, Kate tiredly telling him that they needed to take a break, needed to calm down. Asked him to call her the next day so they could talk things through, let cooler heads prevail.

He never called.

"Castle," she breathes, keys jangling against her leg as she approaches him. He stands with his back pressed against the wall, hands shoved deep into his pockets. She can see the stubble on his cheeks as she nears, can see the dark circles under his eyes from ten feet away. He looks like hell. He looks how she feels.

"Hey," he says, pushing off the wall and turning to face her. He doesn't reach out, doesn't smile.

"I'm so glad to see you," she says, stepping into him and fisting her hands in the front of his shirt. Her forehead lands on his chest and she feels him suck in a deep breath, the expansion of his ribs pushing her back. A tentative hand slides between her shoulders, thumb rubbing slowly against the sharp ridge of her scapula.

Kate breathes him in, her lungs fighting to process the thick air hanging between them. She can feel the steady beat of his heart beneath her hand and she closes her eyes, lets the familiar rhythm loosen the thick bands of anxiety wrapped around her chest. Breaking away, she looks up at him with a soft smile. His answering one is half-hearted at best, the shadows in his eyes making her shiver.

"Let's go inside," she says, releasing her grip on his shirt.

Castle nods and follows her in, his movements slow and labored. She watches him as she takes off her gun, slips the heavy bag from her shoulder. He looks lost, standing in the middle of her entryway, like he doesn't know what to do with himself, doesn't know how to be here.

Toeing off her shoes, Kate grips his left wrist and tugs. He stumbles into her, hands flying to her waist to keep them both standing. Chuckling low in her throat, she wraps her arms around his middle, holding him close.

"I'm sorry, Rick." Her chest hitches on his name and she presses a kiss to the side of his neck. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," he says, hands skimming up her back and loosely cupping her shoulders. The timidity in the gesture makes her want to cry. "I - I didn't mean the things I said."

"Neither did I." Kate leans back, one hand smoothing up his chest. "You know I didn't want to cancel, right? I wanted to come home, Castle. I wanted that so much. But the case -"

"I know." Castle nods, hair flopping limply over his forehead. "I know."

Sighing out his name, she pushes up on her toes and kisses him. Castle's hands move to her cheeks and he kisses her back fiercely, taking from her mouth with a savagery that rips her open, exposing her bruised heart. She moans, gripping him tightly, his heavy body the only thing keeping her upright.

It's been so long. So long since she felt the warmth of chest, the hard press of his body against hers. So long since he held her, his arms tight around her back and lips pressed to the top of her head as he whispered his love into her hair. So long since she woke up next to him, their legs tangled and his hand splayed wide over her stomach. It's been so long and she wants him. Badly.

Heat curls in her abdomen and she takes a step back, trying to pull him with her, fisted hands stretching the soft cotton of his shirt. Castle doesn't move, instead breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead against hers. They're both panting, sucking in shallows breaths that echo loudly in the silence.

"I love you," Kate whispers, voice cracking. "I love you, Castle."

Slowly, he releases her and takes a step back. Then another. His hands slide from her face, the tips of his fingers lingering along her jaw for just a moment before he drops his arms. Tears shimmer in his eyes when he speaks.

"I slept with someone."

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