A/N: This was my entry for the winter Castle Contest.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or the characters developed by the show and its creators.

For _MissKM_ on twitter who wanted some mid-ep. precinct talk.

Cupiditas

cupiditās f (genitive cupiditātis); third declension - desire

Kate huffs when Castle follows her into the break room. "Castle, if you followed me in here so you could tell me more about your in-depth knowledge of zombies, you can just turn around." Castle chuckles softly, making no move that would indicate he plans to do as she just requested. He's been going on and on about zombies since they first discovered their killer was dressed as one. She's heard enough zombie facts to last her a lifetime.

He waves her away from the espresso machine and sets about finishing the cup that she started. "What would you prefer we talk about, Detective?" He doesn't miss her sigh as she plops down at the table.

"Anything, but zombies, please." She could be setting herself up for an interesting conversation and she finds herself earnestly waiting for Castle's response. When he spins around, two coffees in hand, his look tells her this will be anything but boring.

He sets her cup in front of her before casually sinking down into the seat beside her. His salacious little smirk gives him away before he even opens his mouth. "So does that mean that any other topic is acceptable?" She doesn't miss his emphasis on the word 'other' and she shivers slightly in her seat.

"I'll tell you what, Castle. For the sake of taking my mind off this case for a little while, yes, any other topic is acceptable." She grins when her tone seems to have a similar effect on him.

He scoots his chair closer than normal, but not close enough to be inappropriate. Yet. "Well, I was thinking, perhaps we could tell each other the thing we desire most at this very moment."

Kate's eyes widen when his words register, but she leans closer to him. Yes, this is the perfect way to get her mind off this case, and onto something infinitely more intriguing—him. They've been careful with each other the past few weeks, slowly inching towards something they both want, but haven't been ready for—well she hasn't been ready for. She's ready now.

"Okay, deal. You tell me yours then I'll tell you mine, on one condition."

He claps his hands together like a child who's just won a game of Go Fish, but then just as fast he regains his composure. "What's the condition?"

"No one else ever hears what's said in this room. Only us, got it?" Her voice comes out normal but she immediately feels the shift between them.

"Sure, only us."

She crosses her arms in front of her on the table and focuses her attention on him. "Okay, Castle, so what is it that you desire most?"

She expects some type of drawn out, ridiculous sexual fantasy, but his description far surpasses anything she imagined.

"What I desire most is the chance to love you. I don't mean loving you from the sidelines, Kate. I want to show you what it's like to have someone love every part of you, worship every inch of you. I want to build you up over and over so that any memories of being torn down will be forgotten. I want to get inside your walls and show you that you'll never need them again, not with me. And yes, I want to make love to you, but when I finally get to do that, I want to be sure it's what you want. I want our first time to be my last first time. I want you, all of you Kate, but the thing I desire most is your heart."

She's so emotional after he stops talking that she doesn't trust herself to speak. She's not even sure that she can after that. He never ceases to surprise her. Her eyes are misty when she finally blinks and focuses on him, and he looks so in love with her that she almost loses it. No one has ever looked at her like that before.

"Kate, I'm sorry I didn't mean to push you—I just…" Oh shoot, she really needs to say something. Pull it together, Kate.

"Hey, don't apologize, just give me a second, and let me get this out, okay?"

He nods, but he looks so scared of what she's about to say. She refrains from crawling into his lap and kissing the insecurity away.

"Ever since my mom was murdered, all I've wanted was to get her justice. It's the only thing that mattered to me. I put it above everything and everyone in my life. That's not the case anymore. I still want justice for her, but there's something that I desire more now. I'm tired of running from this, from us. I know I've made mistakes, but I want to make things right. I want you, Castle. You have my heart, it's yours."

When he suggested this conversation, this outcome is not at all what she expected. It's so much better. He looks like she's just given him the best thing in the world, and in his opinion, she has.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes, Castle. I want this. I'm ready to dive in." She closes the distance between them as she speaks, and before he can answer she presses her lips against his. He pulls her closer, letting their love fuse them together. She's about to climb into his lap when she remembers where they are.

"I guess we should wait to continue this when we're somewhere a little more private." He's being the rational one for once, but she decides to have a little fun with him anyway.

"Sure, Castle, we can continue this later. Come over tonight and I'll be happy to show you some more things I desire."

"Show?" He gulps.

"I think you'll learn and agree that showing is much better than telling," she whispers.

It's much later that night when he's wrapped around her, completely sated, that he concludes showing is definitely better than telling.

Would love to hear your thoughts! xo