AN: Hey guys! Guess what I've got for you… ANOTHER fluffy one-shot! I am such a one-trick pony.

This one has minor spoilers for Season 4 Episode 2 (Heroes and Villains) which is fast becoming my all-time favourite Castle episode. So consider this your warning – little, teeny spoilers.

Thanks for reading guys, and I'll see you on the flipside.

IBYL
xo

Disclaimer: Don't own Castle. Maybe someday?

Kate Beckett knocked on the door to Castle's loft, laughing at the raucous noise coming from inside. Castle was hosting a "games" night of sorts for the best homicide team at the 12th, involving god-only-knows how many shooting games, as well as dancing and who knows what else – it was Castle's shindig, after all. Castle himself pulled the door open and greeted her with a wide smile.

"You made it!" He exclaimed excitedly, taking her hand and pulling her inside. A few months ago, such contact between them would've made the stoic detective flinch, but after the shooting and her subsequent return to the real world, Castle had found a myriad of excuses to touch her in some way, checking she was really there. At first it was grating, but now she was used to it, even relished in it slightly – and he didn't have to keep up the excuses anymore.

"I'm only a little late, aren't I? Sorry. I was talking to my dad." She said, and he smiled.

"He was checking in on you, huh?" He said knowingly, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Plus we hadn't spoken in a little while, so we chatted. I got carried away." She said, and he grinned.

"It's good that you got to talk to him."

"He asked how you were." She slipped in casually, and he smiled.

"That's nice of him. Next time you talk to him, tell him I say hi." He said, and she nodded.

"Will do."

"So, can I get you a drink? Alcoholic or otherwise?" He asked politely, and she noted that he made quite the host.

"What are you drinking?"

"I'm on the soft stuff tonight – Alexis is on a date, and I need to keep my wits about me."

"Date already? Her and Ashley only split a few weeks ago."

"He may have met someone at Stanford already." He said with a sideways glance, and Kate grimaced in sympathy.

"Ouch. At least she's not curled up in a ball in her room, crying her eyes out."

"That was last week. This week is the 'I don't need him' crusade. Apparently she's been friends with the guy for ages, and when he heard that Ashley was off the radar, he got up the courage to ask her to the movies."

"That's sweet."

"It also worries me. I know what I did as a young boy." He said with a sigh, and Kate patted his shoulder gently.

"You also have the most sensible teenager going around. She'll be fine."

"Yeah well, I'm staying off the juice in case she needs me." He said, and Kate's heart thumped at his adorable but somewhat unnecessary protective side.

"Well, on that note, I shall stay sober with you."

"Really?" He asked, looking surprised. She rarely had the opportunity to let her hair down.

"My aim isn't great when I'm tipsy." She said with a gentle smile, and he grinned.

"Thanks for backing me up." He said, draping his arm around her shoulders. She subconsciously leaned into the gentle embrace, stopping briefly to notice the wide grin on his face, the pure joy in his expression. She couldn't help but feel that his excitement was contagious. He reluctantly pulled away to grab them each a Coke, before heading into the lounge where Esposito, Lanie, Ryan and Jenny were gathered.

"Thought I heard you. What took you so long?" Lanie asked, clearly enjoying her margarita.

"We were just catching up." Kate said without fanfare, taking a seat on the couch and leaving room for Castle to join her.

"You saw each other an hour ago. What the hell could've happened in an hour?" Lanie responded, and Castle raised an eyebrow as he sat down next to Beckett.

"I'm a writer, Lanie, do you REALLY want me to answer that question. I make up these situations for a living." He said, and she sighed.

"Fine, I concede. But I sure as hell don't understand you two." She murmured, and Kate glared a warning at her. She held her hands up in surrender, and the moment passed.

"So, what are we playing?" Kate asked.

"It was SingStar, but we're having a slight break from that to dance for a while." Ryan said, and Jenny nodded her conformation.

"Yeah, but I barely got a turn. The boys hogged it." She said, making Kate laugh.

"Of course they did." She said knowingly, and Esposito opened his mouth to protest, but she stopped him quickly. "Shut it, Espo, I don't want to hear your excuses." He closed his mouth obediently, making Castle laugh. Changing over to the Wii system, the boys and Lanie and Jenny jumped at the opportunity to play Just Dance, leaving Rick and Kate back on the couch. Kate smiled at the scene unfolding in front of her before turning to Rick.

"Will you be terribly offended if I don't dance tonight? I'm exhausted." She said, and he laughed, shifting closer to her on the couch and resting his arm on the back.

"As long as you join in with something else – I bet I can kick your ass at Mario Kart." He boasted, and she smiled.

"You wish. I'll smash you at Mario Kart." She said, leaning back slightly.

Kate couldn't help but ponder the situation she was in. Currently, she was sitting side by side on a couch with the man she was in love with, who she wanted to be with for the rest of her life, who has waited for her to sort herself out, to fix all of her issues – and she couldn't help but wonder if she was wrong. She'd said that she couldn't have the kind of relationship she wanted without solving her mother's murder first. And for a very long time, she was convinced that was true. But, she knew, it would be impossible to keep one foot out of the door in a relationship with Rick. Her whole heart was already in it, and it wasn't even a real relationship yet. Talking to Officer Hastings after that superhero case, about not losing your future because of the past made her realise that she was a hypocrite. She was still vulnerable, still scared – but if there was one person in the world who could successfully guide her through it, it was the man on her right. Looking up to check that the others were still securely occupied, I turned to Rick and whispered softly in his ear.
"Meet me in your study in a minute?" He nodded dumbly in response and she smiled, getting up from the couch and walking in the general direction of the downstairs bathroom before doubling back to the study. She was waiting patiently, sitting at his desk and staring at the photos on his wall of himself, Alexis, Martha and the crew from the 12th – including a couple of nice photos of herself. She heard the little knock as he slipped inside the study and locked the door.

"You okay?" He asked, concerned as ever. She smiled softly.

"I'm good. Just had a lot on my mind and I wanted to think it over and talk to you without 'Pump Up The Jam' as the soundtrack."

"A valid request in any situation." He said, before taking a seat on the leather couch and patting the space next to him – a void which she filled willingly. "So what's rattling around in that brain of yours?" He prompted gently, and she smiled.

"I think I was wrong."

"About what?" He asked.

"Waiting to close my mother's murder case before moving on with my life. I told Officer Hastings not to let her past dictate her future, but that's exactly what I've been doing. I'm stronger now, Castle. I'm still damaged, probably irreparably, but I'm stronger. And that's mostly because of you. And now, I'm sitting here, marvelling at how good it feels to simply sit beside you and I wonder why we've waited. Because yeah, I'm a mess, but really – you were going to help me through it anyway, weren't you, so I don't see any reason why we can't be together while you help me fix my issues." She blurted out that last part and paused, suddenly fearful of the rash actions that she couldn't even blame on alcohol.

She needn't have worried, if the smile on Richard Castle's face was anything to go by. He pulled her closer to him and she decided to adjust, swinging one leg over his and planting herself on his knees, facing him. He smiled brightly at her.

"Oh, Kate. I'd love to be with you. But we're doing this slowly, okay? One step at a time. Because I'm just as scared of messing this up as you are, possibly more scared." He said softly, taking her hands in his.

"So what's the plan?" She asked, eager to be reassured that she wasn't insane.

"Why don't we just do what we always do? We'll have dinner, we'll go to the movies and trash all the awful ones, we'll play games and relax with Alexis. There might be some cuddling in there too." He said with a smirk. "We'll just… be. We'll keep being us, we'll keep solving murders, and the rest will fall into place." He said confidently, and she smiled.

"It'll fall into place." She affirmed, before sliding closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist tightly. They stayed cuddled together for a while before Kate pulled herself away from him slightly. With a devilish little grin, she leaned in close to him and pressed her lips to his gently, letting her eyes flutter shut as she simply enjoyed being so intimately connected with Richard Castle. They stayed that way for a while, content as they were, but Kate pulled away first.

"We're bound to be attracting some suspicion." She said sadly, and he grinned.

"Probably. To be completely honest, I don't care." Rick said, and she laughed, although she was quickly silenced by his lips on hers again.

"Come on, Romeo, let's go out there. Maybe we can steal the TV away for a bit and play that game of Mario Kart." She said, reluctantly pushing herself off of his lap and offering him her hand. He took it with a smile before lifting himself from the chair and wrapping his arms around her to kiss her yet again. She smiled against his lips before pulling away for air.

"Seriously, Rick. You can have me to yourself later."

"You'll stay?"

"I'll at least wait until I can have some alone time with you without hiding out in your study. Plus I'd like to see Alexis." She said with a shrug, and Rick beamed widely.

"Okay, you make a good argument. Let's go!" He said, tugging her out the door and leaving her wondering if she'd actually made an argument at all. They got back to the couch without anyone so much as mentioning their absence, much to Kate's surprise. Her and Rick sat down and this time, Rick did not hesitate in throwing his arm around her, just as she did not hesitate to lean into his gentle embrace. They quickly immersed themselves back into the trash talk that was flying around the living room, and time flew. Before long, the boys, Jenny and Lanie were making their excuses to leave, citing work commitments and generally being tired. Rick gave an obligatory sigh but nodded his understanding and led his guests away, Kate bidding her goodbyes from the television as she switched the game to Mario Kart. When Rick returned, she handed him a wheel.

"I fail to see how you'd be able to beat me, you don't even have a Wii." Rick said, and Kate grinned.

"Surely you've learnt by now, Ricky, I've always got a trick up my sleeve." She said mysteriously, making him cough. She picked the Leaf Cup, and Rick smiled, clearly pleased that she hadn't picked something insanely difficult. He was Mario, and she was Yoshi. The starting lights of the first race began and Kate grinned to herself, before manoeuvring past the characters in front of her and rocketing to the front, flicking a cheeky grin at Rick.

She didn't lose the lead again, at any point in any of the four races. When the final race finished, Rick's jaw dropped.

"You've been holding out on me."

"My dad has a Wii. Thinks it's the best fun he's ever had. We play a lot of Mario Kart together, just him and me." She said softly, and he smiled.

"I will practice more, and then I will beat you." He said determinedly, and she laughed.

"You do that." She said smiling, before putting her wheel aside and cuddling into Rick, leaning on his chest.

"Alexis will probably be an hour, so shall we watch some TV to pass the time?"

"Does it involve either of us moving at all?" She asked in response, and he shook his head. "Okay, TV away. What are we watching?" He looked at the remote next to him before picking it up and handing it to her.

"Your choice." He said, and she grinned, flicking through the channels before landing on the beginning of an episode of Wipeout.

"Score!" She exclaimed, and Rick stared at her open-mouthed. "What?" She asked, and he smiled.

"You really are the perfect woman, aren't you?" He said, and she blushed.

"Something like that." She murmured, resting her head on his shoulder to hide her blush. They stayed like that for a while, simply content in each other's arms, only interrupted by a couple of giggles from Kate, who was enthralled by the TV show. Their peace was only interrupted by the sound of a key in the lock, and Rick turned his head towards the front door.

"Hey pumpkin." He said gently, and she smiled, wandering over to the couch.

"Hey dad. Hey Kate, hang around after the games night?" She asked, and Kate nodded.

"Yeah, I wanted to see you." She said with a smile, and was greeted with one in return. "How was the date?" Kate asked.

"My cue to escape for a while. Hot chocolates all round?" When Rick received two nods in response, he took his leave to the kitchen.

"Fun, but not really a date." Alexis said with a sigh. "He's a great friend, but by the end of the night we'd agreed that we could be friends, but there wasn't anything romantic there. Like you and Dad." She said, stopping when she noticed Kate's dark blush. "Something happened? I was gone like, three hours!" She said, and Kate laughed.

"We had a chat… and we're taking teeny tiny steps towards something a little… more." She said delicately, fully aware that Alexis probably didn't want details about her father's love life. Alexis scooted down the couch and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am that it's you. I couldn't wish for anyone better." She whispered, and Kate felt herself tear up a little. She smiled through it, before pulling away and kissing Alexis on the cheek.

"Thanks, baby. So, now that the awkward conversation is out of the way, want me to catch you up on who's who in this Wipeout episode?"

"Absolutely." She said, and Kate kept her arm around the young girl, pointing out the people to watch for in the sweeper round. When Rick returned, the three sat on the couch together, laughing at the flips and tricks that people were attempting on-screen.

As they sat and cheered at the TV, Kate couldn't help but feel that she'd just found what would forever fill the hole left in her heart by her mother's murder – their names were Rick and Alexis Castle.

Her family.

Version 2.0.

AN 2: So, as you can tell, this story has mentions of Mario Kart – weird, I know, but I have a 5-year-old brother who is OBSESSED with Mario Kart, like I am obsessed with Castle: Intensely. So that's why I included it in this story. I thought it was cute. He is also the reason I watch Wipeout – because, like most young boys I know, he thinks that people falling over is the absolute height of hilarity, and he has been known to cry with laughter at some of the more spectacular spills. He keeps me young, and is probably also partly the reason for all the mad fluff I write because it's hard to be sullen with a crazy happy 5 year old in your life. Best depression cure ever, in my book.

Clearly, my little bro was on my mind! Hope you enjoyed this story, and if you'd take the time to leave a review I'd be super-duper happy :D

THANKS FOR READING! :)