Title: When She Knew
Summary: They debated for years who loved who first. The truth was, Kate knew exactly when she fell in love with Richard Castle. Spoilers for Still.
Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.
A.N. So this is a short one shot that is the twin to another story that I'll eventually do from Castle's PoV.
oooXXXooo
The day was long. It wasn't the first time her life had been threatened by a bomb, but Kate hoped that it would be the last. Her entire body ached from standing in one spot for several hours, and she was only able to move because Castle had given her an amazing full body massage. Normally that would have led to some amazing sex, but she was just too tired, and she could tell that Castle was right there with her.
They fell asleep almost immediately after crawling into bed, both happy that they day had ended with them both safe and sound.
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When Kate woke up the next morning, she lay with her head on Castle's chest, listening to his soft breathing. She had the day off from the precinct, so she was in no rush to leave the warmth of her boyfriend's bed. She thought back to the day before and had to smile at how Castle had kept her mind off of the bomb by arguing with her over who loved who first.
The truth was, she knew that it was Castle who loved her first.
She hated Richard Castle from the moment she met him for the first time at the roof-top book launch. He was an egotistical, arrogant jackass, who was in no way like the man whose books she had adored since her mom had died.
The jackass playboy persona was so totally off putting that she couldn't stand his presence. Even if she had been attracted to him (which she was and had been), she wouldn't have ever acted on that lust during their first year of working together. It wasn't until he looked into her mother's case that she realized she even cared about him at all.
It had hurt so much when he had told her he had reopened her mom's case. More than it should have if he were just an annoying shadow she had to put up with.
Their second year together was spent with her getting to know the real Richard Castle. The arrogance was gone for the most part, and in its place was an (adorable, Kate could now admit) man-child who she knew cared about her beyond just wanting to get into her pants.
After her apartment exploded in the Scott Dunn case, and while she stayed at the loft, she got to see Castle for who he really was.
Her first clue that she felt more for Castle than friendship came right before he left the precinct with his ex-wife. She had not only been hurt, but jealous.
It had hit her like a ton of bricks. She liked Richard Castle. As in Like Liked!
It had made that summer apart miserable. She couldn't decide whether she was disappointed he wasn't around for her to be with or if she wanted him gone.
When she had met Josh at a bar, she had jumped right into his bed, thinking that a one night stand was exactly what she needed. It had turned out that one night had turned into two, and two into three, and so on. It was casual for them. Kate knew that she wouldn't fall in love with Josh Davidson, but she liked him, and his busy schedule along with hers prevented them from becoming too serious.
Castle had come back and they started growing closer again, but Kate kept it as professional as possible, vowing to get over her personal feelings for the author. She wouldn't let him break her heart again.
It was when they were in Los Angeles that she knew that she loved him. She had suspected it for a long while, and had almost told him while they were stuck in that freezer together. But it was the trip to LA that made her come to terms that she loved him with all her heart. He had dropped everything to come help her, had comforted her, and had her back. Along with Royce's letter, she had left LA knowing that she and Castle were inevitable.
Then she was shot.
It changed everything. She couldn't be with Castle, not with some shadowy organization out there who wanted her dead. Her paranoia was epic, and it had caused her to lie to Rick about her memory of his confession of love.
It took a year, but eventually she realized that she couldn't stop living just because of her mom's case. It had only taken an assassin throwing her over the side of a roof for her to realize that she needed to get over herself and tell Castle how she felt for him.
That first night together was the best of her life. She had never felt that way with anyone else before, and she knew, she just knew, that she would be spending the rest of her life with Richard Castle.
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She had finally told him the day before that she loved him. She wasn't happy that she had waited until her life was in danger once again to say the words, but in the end, now he knew.
She loved him, just as much as he loved her. And she would, always. It didn't matter who loved who first.
oooXXXooo
A.N.2. So there's that. I'm sure it sucks, but hey it got me writing again. I want to do a similar story where Castle thinks about when he started to love Kate as well.
Reviews are awesome.