A/N: If it resembles the show Castle in any way, I don't own it.
"Kate, I swear to you, if we catch a cab in this weather I'll buy you a pony for Christmas," Richard Castle said to his partner, squinting up at the heavy snow and the chilling, icy sleet that was falling. The universe must truly love irony, because at that very moment a taxi pulled up in front of them.
Kate grabbed his arm and yanked him to it, muttering her address to the driver as she did. Once they were seated in the back she raised an eyebrow at him, "I would prefer a new motorcycle, Castle."
He shot her a crooked grin, "As much as I'd love to help you pick one out, I think ponies get better gas mileage."
Kate was about to say something about tight leather pants, but it was launched out of her mouth as the cab slide sharply to the right and she was thrown from her seat and into Castle's lap.
"Whoa, Beckett!" He said in surprise, lifting her up a little to make sure she was alright. She scrambled backwards to her seat. Upon confirming she was unharmed, he said with a smirk, "I know I'm irresistible, but I don't want the cab driver getting distracted."
True enough, the cabby was looking back at them.
Beckett scowled at Castle, reddening a little, though it was masked in the semi-darkness created by the late afternoon and the snow.
"Though you should probably put your seat-belt on," He finished earnestly.
She took his advice without hesitation.
They arrived to Beckett's apartment about thirty minutes later, though the trip should have taken few more than five, slightly jostled, and arguing about whether Castle should continue on his way home or stay with Beckett.
"Kate, I'm didn't disarm a nuke, survive a tiger, and outsmart a bank robber just to die in a taxi crash! I'm staying over, whether you like it or not."
She rolled her eyes but she could see that there was no way to get out of this one. Besides, to tell the honest truth she didn't like the idea of him driving all the way across town in this weather either. "Fine, Castle." She was about to add stipulations but something caused the words to die before they ever got out of her mind. Castle let out a little cry of excitement and jumped out of the car, presently slipping and nearly falling face first onto the sidewalk. Kate laughed after he caught his balance, handing the cabby his wage.
"Glad you find amusement in my near-death experiences," He scowled at her.
She laughed again and got out of the taxi, only to lose her own balance on the icy sidewalk. She lurched backwards toward the street but Castle caught her arm.
"Whoa, Beckett!" He repeated in surprise, for the second time that night. She threw herself into him in a panic, clinging to his shoulders. They looked up at each other, and then burst out laughing.
"Come on," She said after a moment, flushed from the laughter. She clamped her hand onto his wrist and together the cautiously made their way to the apartment building.
Once inside, they discarded their damp jackets and shoes.
"Man, it's freezing in here!" Castle said, "What temperature to you keep this place at?"
"I turn my heater off when I'm not home. The building has a heating unit that gets up to around 60 in the winter. Unlike you, I don't have the money to keep my footstools warm when I don't need to."
"You could put it on a timer, you know," He suggested, targeting the thermostat and turning the heat up.
"Eh," She replied noncommittally, "I don't always know what time I'll get home."
"There's probably an app for that."
"Knowing what time you'll get home?"
"Turning the thermostat on," He replied, "But there's probably a traffic factoring app, too."
She smiled. Castle walked over the living room and flopped down on the couch, grabbing the remote and switching the TV on to show A Christmas Story. Castle gave a yelp of joy, causing Kate to start a little. She walked over and sat down down next to him.
"I can't believe they're playing this right now! This is my favorite Christmas movie!" He said, looking over at her, "I asked for a Red Ryder BB gun every year until I was twelve."
Kate smiled. Suddenly, her heart felt as though it was about to burst through her chest. She let out a laugh and leaned into him, surprising even herself as he placed a small kiss on his lips. She paused a fraction of a centimeter from his face, both sets of features portraying shock. Then, without hesitation she let her lips crash back onto his again. He was surprised by the hunger and passion of the kiss, but by no means did he protest. He wrapped a hand around her waist and pressed her back against the arm of the couch as the kiss grew more intense. They paused to take in air.
"Kate..." He murmured.
She responded with a small moan into his mouth.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He continued between kisses, "Are you sure you want this?"
"Oh, Castle..." She murmured, "I don't know how this is going to turn out. But right now..." She paused in her speech as their lips crashed together again, "I want this... Just this..." She added with a little emphasis. It was true; she cared about Castle a lot. More than she cared to admit. But she didn't know if she was strong enough to be a part of this kind of relationship yet. Not with her mother's case still unsolved. Not with her feelings for Castle so undecided.
She could handle a relationship, unlike what she had told Castle on the swing set that day. She could have easily kept going with out Josh. She had liked him; he was a good man. But how could she continue to go out with him after what Castle had said to her? He told her he loved her. And though she's sure Josh had had strong feelings about her she doubted he loved her. And, after Montgomery had died, it had grown harder for her to deny the fact that she honestly cared for Castle more than Josh.
But that didn't mean she was ready for such a commitment. On the contrary, she was even more afraid of and overwhelmed by the prospect. She couldn't have one foot out the door on this one. However, she also couldn't deny that the more she was around Castle the more she wanted to be as physically close to him as she possibly could. Maybe, right now, that would be enough for her. Enough for him.
"Just this..." Castle repeated. Kate's entire internal monologue had lasted less than a second. She clamped a hand into Castle's hair and placed the other around his neck.
"Please..." She murmured. "For now, can we just have this?"
"We can have this as long as you want, Kate," He replied. Then the talking gave way to kissing completely as they feel into one another.
A/N: Please review! I was interested in doing a story that had to do with Kate and her internal debate about Castle, relationships, and her mother's murder because I don't feel like the show really gave as much as they could in that aspect.