Three
Sitting in "his" chair beside Beckett's desk, Castle was content to watch his partner finish lining pictures up on the murder board and take a moment to reflect on just how wonderful his life was. He had an incredible daughter, a sweet mother, amazing friends, and his partner. Though technically at that moment they could only apply that term to their working relationship, he knew in a very short period of time it would be applied to their personal relationship as well—and he simply could not wait.
A little more than a month had passed since their rescue from a burning warehouse and he could safely conclude in that time they had transitioned from work partners to a middle-ground state that bridged the gap between a platonic and intimate relationship. Both because of the dramatic events they faced and due to the fact that Kate had just ended a relationship, they agreed to keep things casual. They didn't want to rush and agreed to start by focusing on their friendship and building from there. As such, Castle had enjoyed every single one of their "friend dates." They shared meals, went to movies, and visited art galleries. Mostly, they talked, which was Castle's favorite part. He could have spoken with his partner for days on end and never grown tired of it.
Through their conversations, Castle was able to gain more insight into why Kate was so mysterious and why her heart was kept in a padlocked box instead of closer to an on-sleeve location. They talked through her fears and ways they could work through them together as they moved in a romantic direction. Castle knew there were still times she struggled, times he could see the uncertainty on her face, but the fact that she was willing to speak with about how she was feeling and the concerns she still had continued to prove to him that she was willing to make progress and had their relationship in the front of her mind, and he could not have asked for more than that. Of course it didn't hurt that the prior week they had finally apprehended the man responsible for trapping—and nearly killing—them in that warehouse; that was certainly a weight off of both their shoulders.
When Kate finished writing out everything they knew on the board, she turned back towards her desk and gave him a smile as she went.
"Looks good, Detective," he complimented her with an over-sized grin.
She let out a breathy laugh and said, "Yeah well it'll look better when we solve it."
"Don't worry; we will."
She hummed, made a few clicks with her computer mouse, and then turned to him with her voce lowered. "Hey so…I'm thinking ahead a bit here, but: did you want to do something Saturday night?"
As it was only Tuesday, she really was thinking ahead, but he didn't mind. In fact, as far as he was concerned, she didn't even need to ask. Other than perhaps the rare Black Pawn or charity event, or something god-awful his mother invited him to, as far as Castle was concerned, all his Saturday nights belonged to Kate Beckett. "Definitely. Did you want to come over or did you have something else in mind?"
The prior Saturday night had been spent at his place. They had wanted to order in Thai and watch something on TV, but barely fifteen minutes in the cable went out. As they waited for it to come back, they played a few friend (okay, very competitive) rounds of poker. When the cable was working again, they sat side-by-side which ultimately ended in Kate resting her head against his shoulder. When he invited her to stay and sleep, she agreed, and nothing made him happier than waking up to her gorgeous face the next morning. For that Saturday he hoped to not only repeat the same plans but improve upon them since he would finally be without his arm sling.
"Actually…" She began with a coy little smile that grew wider as she spoke. "I thought maybe…maybe I'd make us dinner at my place."
"Really?"
She arched a challenging eyebrow at him and said pointedly, "I can cook."
Castle nodded and realized his surprised tone might have accidentally implied he was surprised at the cooking part of her plan not the invitation as a whole. "I wasn't arguing to the contrary I'm just pleasantly surprised. I'd love to come. Can I bring anything?"
She dipped her gaze a moment and then speaking in a murmur she continued, "How about your toothbrush?"
Castle instantly felt his face flush. From her darkened gaze he knew immediately her suggestion was not just because she wanted them to cuddle in her bed not his. She was definitely implying more—not that he was complaining. He'd wanted to make love to her practically from the moment they met. Of course, back then his desires were based solely on physical attraction, but now he knew their night together would mean so much more.
Before he jumped to conclusion, Castle did want to clarify, so he said quietly, "You mean, because we…we'd…" He let his voice drift off with the implication.
Kate gave a small nod and then turned back to her computer. Speaking in a normal tone of voice she said, "Is there a problem with that?"
"No. Not at all. I…I look forward to that very much."
She glanced at him briefly, then smiled a little bit. "Me too. I—oh actually, maybe you could bring a bottle of wine, too? Red wine."
"You got it. I-"
"Yo Beckett—I got that security camera footage you requested."
Both partners turned to Esposito and she said, "Great; thanks." Then, after giving Castle one more quick smile, they pushed herself out of her chair and followed him to where he had the video pulled up on his computer screen. Castle took one moment to internally jump for joy over the prospect of their date—and to curse the fact that Saturday was so very far away—before joining them in order to continue the investigation.
At the appropriate designated time, Castle arrived at Beckett's apartment and took a moment to collect himself before knocking on the door. He needed to remind himself that the night was long and, as much as he wanted to, running into her apartment, throwing her over his shoulders, and walking directly back to the bedroom was probably not the best approach. Still, he knew his heart would thrum with permanent excitement until that moment arrived.
Castle knocked on the door and quickly adjusted the collar of his shirt while he waited for it to open. When it did, he and his partner shared grins. She invited him inside and he ducked through the doorway before presenting her with the bottle of red wine he knew to be one of her favorites.
"Thanks, but, uh…" Her eyes flicked up and down his torso and she gave him a sly little smile before continuing. "I thought I told you to bring your toothbrush, too."
Castle bounced on his heels, absolutely loving when she teased him. He wasted no time in slipping his hand to the inside pocket of his blazer and retrieving the slim black case that held his toothbrush and a travel-sized toothpaste. "Got that right here, Beckett."
She bit down on her bottom lip and he could feel the blood in his body surging southward. He fought the urge to groan and instead swallowed hard as she said, "Good; that's good."
She slipped past him and into the kitchen, where she placed the bottle of wine on the counter by the refrigerator. He turned, followed, and asked, "So what's for dinner? Need any help?"
"Oh, um, no. It's already in the oven, actually." She gestured towards the appliance and then leaned her back against the counter as she continued to speak. "It's pot roast. Not that fancy, I know, but it's my mom's recipe. It was one of my favorites growing up and it has a lot of good, comforting memories."
Castle knew he gazed at her with an adoration that would have bordered on nauseating to any outsiders that would enter that apartment, but he did not care one bit. The fact that she made and was sharing such a meal with him spoke volumes about how far they'd come and the direction they were going in. "Well, I can't wait to try it; I'm sure it'll be great."
She gazed at him for another few seconds before stepping forward, grasping the lapels of his blazer, and dragging him forward until his lips met hers. His hands instinctually fell to her hips and he hummed with equal parts surprise and delight. They kissed for several moments before she pulled back, flashed him a wicked grin, and then began backing out of the kitchen, her hands still on his jacket.
Catching this fairly obvious implication, Castle stammered a bit while the realization settled in. "Oh, I, um—now? We're—now?"
She quirked one eyebrow at him. "Why not now?"
"Oh no—no. I'm not complaining; just observing—processing."
She dropped her hands from his jacket and shrugged saying, "Well we've got over an hour until dinner's done and I…" She stepped up and looped her arms around his neck saying, "I really haven't been able to concentrate on anything else all day."
"I know the feeling," he muttered before crushing his mouth against hers once more.
They clumsily made their way back to her bedroom where she separated their lips only long enough to turn on the light. Just a foot from her bed, she slipped her hands beneath his jacket and began to slide it down his arms. Unknowingly, she did so a bit too aggressively, because Castle quickly felt a pinch in his right shoulder and yelped.
"Oh! I'm sorry—I'm sorry." She apologized quickly, stepping back with a cringe on her face.
He shook his head, pulled the jacket off, tossed it on to the end of the bed, and then rubbed his shoulder a bit. "No, it's fine—it just pinches a little bit sometimes. I'm ok."
She stepped up to him again, tentative. "You'll let me know if it hurts again?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." With that, she stepped in and kissed him again.
Castle gathered her up in his arms, skimming one hand across her back while using the other to bring up over her shoulders and fist into her hair. He then moved both hands southward until he could grab her ass and use it to draw her in even closer. She moaned against his lips as he did this and he felt all the breath evaporate from his body at the notion that she was really there, in his arms, and they were really about to be together with none of them holding back. "Mmm Kate."
"What?" she whispered in response.
He gazed down at her, his heart swelling with joy, and simply shook his head saying, "Nothing, just appreciating the moment."
"Yeah? Well how about you appreciate it from over here?" And with that, she pulled him along with her on to the bed.
Castle was comfortably dozing in Beckett's bed when a stringent beeping noise hit his ears. He groaned, hoping to ignore the noise, but unfortunately his partner responded to it and began moving out from underneath his embrace. "No…don't…" he pouted, his eyes still closed.
"That's the oven timer; I don't want to ruin dinner."
He groaned a bit pathetically when she fully removed herself from his arms. Then, as her words processed, he cracked one eye open so that he could just barely see the curve of her ass and the petite tattoo that sat on the edge of her hip. Amused and curious, he asked, "You gonna go to the kitchen wearing just an apron?"
"No," she half laughed in response.
When he pushed himself to a more upright position, he saw her pulling on her undergarments (much to his disappointment). Still, his cheeky attitude remained so he offered, "Want me to come to the kitchen in just an apron?"
That time she fully laughed and turned to face him. "Actually, I don't own an apron—but maybe I'll get one just for that."
He chuckled too and then flopped back down against the mattress, making the internal promise that he would give himself one more minute to bask in the afterglow of their extraordinary love making; then, he would get up, dress, and join her in the kitchen.
Four minutes later he finally made good on that promise and strolled into the kitchen to find her standing in front of the stove, the roast now on top of it with a meat thermometer sticking out of the top. "Ready?" he asked.
She hummed out an affirmative response, removed the thermometer, and gazed over at him. "Yes; it just needs to rest a little bit and then we'll eat. You want to set the table?"
"I'd be happy to."
He completed all the table settings then opened the wine and poured two glasses, which he also added to the table. Then, he returned to the kitchen and watched her move from the stove to the counter, then to the refrigerator and back. It was the domestic dance he never saw her perform before but watched it with as much fascination as some would watch an opera at The Met. Just as she was about to bring the main dish to the table, Kate turned and caught his eye. Laughing she said, "Stop—stop doing that."
"I'm not doing anything."
She gave him a challenging look. "You are. You're looking at me like…like you know what I look like naked and are proud of it."
A laugh escaped his lips. "But that's a true statement!"
"Castle." She groaned.
When she tried to walk past him, he snagged her waist and pulled her in. "I'm sorry, Beckett, but this is just how I look when I'm feeling the happiest I've ever been." Truly. He had many moments of joy in his life—and expected many more to come—but somehow they would all pale in comparison to holding Kate Beckett in his arms as she mewed out his name and their bodies trembled with climax together. The only thing that made him happier than that was the knowledge that they would be doing that again, and again, and again…
She placed her hands delicately on his biceps, saying, "I feel that too, even though this is also the most scared I've ever been."
"Why?"
She gave a little shrug and an embarrassed smile. "I've never been all-in like this before."
He nodded. "I know, but I'm all-in, too, and I promise you, Beckett: we're going to be great."
She smiled and rose up on her toes so she could dust her lips over his. Lowering back down to her flat-feet she said, "Yeah, Castle; I think we are."
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading!
Just to keep you updated - I do have one more mini fic ready that i will post sometime in mid-April, but i'm busy gearing up for my big summer ficathon story, which will begin in early May. I'm VERY excited about it and I hope you guys are too :)