"Rick?"

She tugged on his arm. Once, twice. Nothing.

He felt her body shifting next to his.

"Are you up?"

He managed to grunt, which she took as a 'yes'.

"I have an idea" She whispered into his ear in a sexy voice, with a tiny hint of excitement, while her fingers traced the contours of his chest.

"Does it involve a hot cup of coffee?" He asked, slightly more awake, but eyes still closed.

"If you want to, yes... but you'll burn places you don't want to get burnt. Trust me."

He popped his eyes open , looking shocked.

"Good God, woman, the things that go through your mind..." He shook his head jokingly, in fake disbelief, which made her laugh.

Kate changed position once again, leaving her side of the bed and moving so that she was lying on top of him, tangling their legs and blocking his view from anything inside the bedroom but her. Not that it bothered him. He never got tired of looking at her and he had already memorized every minor detail in her bedroom, anyway.

Yes, they had been spending most of their time at her place, mainly due to privacy issues. After the unfortunate encounter with his mother on that fateful morning, their very first morning together, they sort of decided that her apartment was more suitable for what they had in mind. Alexis was gone most of the time now and his mother was perfectly fine being left to her own devices.

Martha did wonder, though, from time to time, where on earth her son was off to, after all, a man can't possibly have that many poker nights and meetings with his publisher. Especially when his poker buddies and the publisher herself left him voice mails at home when he was supposedly with them. It took her longer than she was willing to admit to figure it out, but he never looked happy after a meeting with Gina; even when he won at poker, he didn't come home whistling. No, definitely not: there was only one thing, or rather one person, that could make him feel this happy. She smiled knowingly every time he turned around to leave the loft and told her not to wait up.

Of course, right now, Rick was staring at the source of his happiness, completely unaware of the fact that their secret relationship wasn't that much of a secret anymore. He loved the privacy her place offered; they might as well be the last two people alive on earth. To be entirely honest, he loved the fact that she was letting him in. No, not like that. You perverted people...

Okay, maybe like that too, but what he meant was he loved having free access to every part of her life. She had told him about a wall she built around herself after her mom died - right now, it was as if that wall had come down. He could roam around the place, he finally found out why she smelled like cherries (for the record, it was her shampoo), he knew her morning habits, her favorite side of the bed (if you really are keeping record, it was the left side); hell, he had even seen her old high school yearbook. If that's not intimacy, then what is?

He was distracted from his thoughts when she started kissing his jaw line, moving dangerously closer to his earlobe. He knew what her next move was, he tried to prepare for it, but... And there it was, that cheeky and sexy and adorable bite. He shivered and wondered if she was able to tell - the doubt vanished when he heard her chuckle against his ear. Sometimes, he had a hard time deciding if she was an angel or the devil.

"You'll be the death of me, Kate Beckett"

"Come on, I'm sure you'll like it" She nearly purred, placing soft kisses at the corners of his mouth. He had to muster every ounce of self control he had.

"Woman, you've rendered me weak. I need coffee, I need food!" He grabbed her shoulders in a vain attempt to express the urgency of his request.

"It's 2 a.m.!"

"So, is there a law that forbids me to eat at 2 a.m.?" She shot him a glare and he noticed he might be in danger. "Please?"

She ignored his plead and proceeded to kiss him; he responded, like she knew he would. His hands travelled away from her shoulders, down her spine, getting closer and closer to her backside. After what may have been five minutes, she broke off, gasping for air.

"You know, you say you're tired... But you don't feel tired to me" she said in an amused tone, panting, referring to the funny things going on down below.

"You're on top of me, kissing me, naked" He said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, so?" She raised an eyebrow, more amused than ever.

"I said I was tired, I never said I was dead!"

She laughed while reluctantly crawling away from him.

"Hey, wait, where are you going?" He seemed upset. Was she playing hot-and-cold? Was that her idea?

"I... am going to feed you" She announced while looking for something in the closet.

"You are?" He sounded like a kid on Christmas morning, his eyes sparkling. He knew Kate well enough to know that this was her being sweet and caring. And she was doing it for him.

"I am" She said, grabbing a robe and putting it on.

"Why...?" His voice trailed off, pointing at the piece of clothing. It was like the kid woke up on Christmas morning to find out there were no presents under the tree.

"We're going to the kitchen" She said, as if it were obvious. "You've seen and done plenty to my naked self, Castle. Plus, I thought you were tired" She teased, trying to sound upset but failing miserably to cover up how entertained she was by the whole situation.

"Still, it doesn't mean I don't want to... enjoy the view" He had a sexy yet playful look upon his face that was oh-so-Castle, which made her go weak in the knees. She tried to recompose herself, but she just couldn't do it quickly enough.

Bingo, he thought to himself, smirking.

"Yeah, well... Consider this punishment. For being such a diva" She retorted, incapable of hiding the crack in her voice. His smile grew wider.

She walked all the way over to the bed just to punch him playfully in the arm.

"Come on, old man"

"Ouch!" He exclaimed, more because of the comment than because of the punch.

She headed to the kitchen while he was still getting out of bed. Looking for his boxers and t-shirt on the floor, he shouted into the corridor:

"Just so you know, you don't get to see my sexy figure parade around your living room, either!"

He could hear her laugh coming from the kitchen. When he finally joined her, the smell of coffee was already in the air.

"What have we got here?"

"A very wide selection ranging from pancakes to... pancakes"

"I guess I'll have the, hm... pancakes, then"

He sat by the counter, just watching her. She peeked from the corners of her eyes. If it had been a few months ago and they were at the precinct, she'd tell him flat out to stop. But it was different now; their relationship had changed. He didn't have to hide his admiration and she didn't have to pretend it bothered her anymore. He got up and walked over to where she was standing.

"Let me help you" He nudged her playfully in the ribs.

"No" She took a step to the side to avoid the tip of his finger, chuckling at the whole situation nonetheless.

"I can totally do this! I raised a kid, you know"

"Yes, I do, I've met her, actually" She retorted sarcastically.

"So, let me help you" He insisted.

"I'm trying to do something nice, will you let me?" She pleaded. Turning her head to face him, she chuckled at his pout. "Okay, if you really want to help, you can set the table."

He kissed her excitedly on the cheek and proceeded to grab mugs and plates. Within ten minutes, they were sitting at the table, talking gibberish. She was still amazed at how easy and natural it felt. Of course, it wouldn't always be like this. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her annoying conscience kept poking her happy bubble, trying to burst it. She worried about how Alexis would react to this. Sure, her father was happy, but Kate had put him in danger so many times already... Would you want your dad to date someone like that? What about his mother?

And now that she had decided to go back to work, how would things be at the precinct? If Castle couldn't hold out on PDA, she feared it would affect her image as a cop. It took years for her to earn respect as a detective and she wasn't about to throw it out the window.

But these seemed like very small things compared to the sheer bliss she experienced right now. When it was just the two of them, when all those other people didn't disturb their balance, they were just perfect. And she was willing to handle whatever came their way to make this work. Relationships are always tricky, it's a fact of life, but for the first time in her life, she was dating a man she loved with all of her heart. She hadn't told him yet, but she would, eventually. They had time.

"Everything alright?" he frowned, slightly concerned by her silence.

"Yes, fine" The warm smile that followed was more than enough to make any worries go away. She reached out from across the table, taking his hand. He looked down at the gesture, half-shocked and half-pleased; he still hadn't gotten used to Kate being sweet. "I was just wondering..." He raised his eyes, turning his attention back to her face. "Do you want some more coffee?" She asked, trying to sound indifferent, but a playful spark could be seen dancing in her eyes.

"No, I'm good" He answered, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Are you still tired?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and cocking her head to the side slightly.

"No, not at all" As he said it, he felt her foot sliding up his leg. Was he really that predictable? "So I'm guessing this whole 'I'm-being-nice-and-cooking-for-you' thing wasn't a selfless deed, after all?"

A grin spread slowly across her face.

"Smart boy"

She bent over slightly so her head was closer to his.

"Pick one: Nutella or whipped cream?"

His initially shocked expression was quickly replaced by a mischievous one.

"How about both?"

"Good choice." Heading towards the kitchen, she added: "I'll meet you in the bedroom."

He got up so quickly he nearly knocked down the chair. Making his way to the bedroom, he decided maybe he'd give his friend, the mayor, a call tomorrow and see about extending Kate's suspension. Just a couple more days.

XXX

Thoughts? This was intended to be a one-shot, but I kept having more and more ideas while writing... So a second chapter might be coming soon, but I'm not making any promises!