AN: Why hello there, strangers, how nice to see you all again! As you can probably tell from the lack of new stories, I've been struggling a little with inspiration, and a little with the general business of life. But I've started a whole raft of stories, some longer than others, so keep an eye out for me.

This little story is a fun little one-shot that I've knocked out in about an hour, so it might be a little rough around the edges but I hope you enjoy it all the same!

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Kind of glad I don't since A Marlowe is doing such an awesome job. Although if I did own it I'd get to know Stana Katic so... you know... pros and cons to every situation.

IBYL
xo

It was 7pm, and the doorbell had just sounded signalling Castle's arrival at her place. Beckett hauled herself off of the couch and headed for the door, flinging it open to find the author juggling a bag and a large pizza box. Taking the box from him she smiled, and gestured him inside.

"Come on in, Castle." She said, before putting the box on her coffee table and smiling, sitting down on the couch.

They'd been doing this a lot recently – nights in with junk food and movies, just spending time together. Beckett wouldn't say they were 'dating' as such – there was just a kind of unspoken understanding. Gina was long gone, and her and Josh had split after what had been widely referred to as the "funeral incident" – their relationship wasn't strong enough to withstand something like that. There wasn't anyone new on the horizon, and they were simply enjoying spending time together. She'd heard what he said, though – they'd never talked about it, but she'd heard those three little words. She didn't know where to begin to talk about it, but she figured that spending all this time together was surely a good baby step.

"So what movie are we watching tonight?" Castle smiled at her, interrupting her little daydream.

"Your choice, mister. I chose Thursday night." She replied, and he grinned.

"How about a laugh, then?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Laughter sounds perfect." She said, and then nodded her approval when he held up her copy of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. "So what's for snacks tonight?" She asked, and he grinned.

"Marshmallows, chocolate, and pizza." He said back, and she pulled a little face before smiling at him and grabbing a slice of pizza.

XXX

Two hours later, and after crying with laughter, Kate felt little need to actually move from her couch, especially after all of the food she'd consumed.

"God, I ate so much crap. I'm going to be in the gym for hours tomorrow." She sighed, poking the little bulge that had formed in her belly.

"You have no need. You need to eat a burger as it is." He said matter-of-factly, and she couldn't help her blush.

"I have to keep fit, Castle. Homicide detective, remember? But thanks for that slightly backward compliment anyways." She smiled, and he smiled charmingly at her.

"Maybe I should come into the gym tomorrow with you." He pondered, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"I know you think you're fit and all, but do you really think you could keep up if I was working at 100 percent?" She asked, and he looked affronted.

"I'm not THAT unfit." He said indignantly.

"Maybe not, but can you keep up with me? I doubt it."

"Ok, Beckett – let's make it a challenge."

"So what do I get when you crash out?" She bantered confidently.

"Well that will be your decision, won't it?" He replied easily.

"Okay, when you bail out tomorrow morning… you have to…" she pondered for a minute. "You have to keep your mouth shut until exactly 5pm. You can type on your laptop, and you can write on paper, but you will not open that mouth of yours. I'm on paperwork all day so I swear to you, if you make one noise I WILL shoot you."

"Deal. But if I can outlast you, you…" he pondered for a second, before smiling viciously. "You, have to sing something totally embarrassing next time we're on the karaoke machine at the Old Haunt. I'm leaning towards Spice Girls… or Barbie Girl by Aqua!" He cried, and she laughed.

"That's a duet, I'd need a partner." She said, and he paused.

"You, Katherine Beckett, are aware of the fact that Barbie Girl should technically be done as a duet?" He asked with a smirk, and she paled.

"Yeah, Castle, I am."

"I don't know whether to be horrified or impressed." He said with glee lacing his voice.

"How about you just be normal?" She retorted quickly, and he poked out his tongue in response, making her giggle. "Look at the time, Castle. Trust me when I tell you, you're going to need a really good night's sleep before tomorrow. I'll see you in the gym at the precinct, 0800 hours. Got it?" She said commandingly, and he nodded dumbly, making her giggle.

"Night, Beckett."

"Night, Castle." She smiled, before locking the door after him and heading to her room. She needed to make sure she won tomorrow, because singing at the Haunt was definitely not an option.

XXX

Beckett was ready early, and decided to head to the precinct and start to warm up. When she got there, she'd barely had time to put her stuff in her locker when she heard Castle arrived.

"Eager to get your ass kicked, Castle?" She teased.

"I think you'll be surprised." He murmured, and she couldn't help the bolt of desire that shot through her at the low tone of his voice, and the husky quality it held.

"Come on, let's get started. 5 minutes on the treadmill as a light warm-up." She instructed, and he grinned.

XXX

Just over an hour later, and Kate was stunned. Castle was still standing. In fact, he'd done really freaking well. She turned to him and smiled.

"Fine, you win." She said, and he grinned.

"Seriously?" He asked.

"Yeah, seriously. I can't try to kill you when you've done this well." She said, and he pulled her into a hug, spinning her around and making her laugh.

"I win, I win, I win!" He chanted, before doing a crazy little victory dance that had her holding her sides from the laughter racking her body.

"God, I love you." She murmured, and Castle stopped dancing, a look of shock gracing his face and she paused, reviewing what she'd just said. Her eyes widened.

"You… huh?" Castle asked, and she smiled a little to herself. Life never went as planned did it? Was it too much to ask for a nice, normal conversation, where they could talk like normal human beings? Apparently, since she just blurted that particular sentiment out, like word vomit. But she knew it was time. This was just the world's clever little way of pushing her.

"I love you, Richard Castle." She smiled, and he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her gently. As soon as their lips touched, a spark erupted, and Kate couldn't help but smile against his lips at how right all this felt. How very them it was.

"I love you, Kate." He said softly as they pulled away from each other. His arms were still around her waist and she'd looped her arms around his neck.

"I know."

"You heard me." He stated, and she nodded.

"I did. I just didn't know how to bring it up." She said, her apology shining in her eyes and he smiled, kissing her again.

"God, I could do that forever." He murmured softly as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Me too." She smiled, so he kissed her again, making her giggle.

"This isn't quite the story I'd planned for us, but I like it all the same."

"How did your story go?"

"We'd be drinking coffee in the park, in the middle of winter, and the snow had stopped but was still on the ground, and you were going to tell me some cute story about fun you had with your mum in the snow and you'd get that beautiful retrospective smile on your face, and then I'd just kiss you mid-sentence." He grinned, and Kate couldn't help but laugh.

"Ever the writer. I like this story though."

"What? That we were basically trying to kill each other from the exhaustion, and then when I was shaking my booty in victory you decided you loved me?" He asked, and she laughed more.

"Well when you put it like that." She teased. "I like it, because it's very us. A bet, some laughs… it's natural. I like natural." She shrugged and he kissed her again.

"I like natural too." He smiled, and they quickly lost themselves in each other once more. When Kate finally regained some of her senses, she pulled herself away.

"Castle, we can't do this here. It's the precinct. Someone could walk in any minute." She scolded, and he pulled away reluctantly, trying desperately not to sulk, which made Kate giggle.

"Don't look so downtrodden."

"Fine. If I can't kiss you here, then you're going on a date with me. Tonight." He affirmed, and she smiled as he clasped her hand in his.

"Okay, tonight. Will you come pick me up?" She asked, suddenly feeling much more girly than she had in years.

"Absolutely. I'll be there at seven." He said, and they kissed quickly before heading to their respective change rooms.

A few minutes later, the pair were dressed and ready for a day at the precinct. As they started walking down the stairs, Kate was suddenly hit with a thought.

"Hey, you're not going to make me sing are you? I know you won the bet but we both got something better out of it, right? And I'm sure you don't want your girlfriend to embarrass you so horribly in public." She said, and silently cursed her voice for giving away her nervousness.

"Hey, Kate?" He said, and she looked over to him. He leant down and whispered into her ear softly, making her shiver.

"You're not getting out of it. A bet's a bet."

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