A big thank you again to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed this fic, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Please note the rating change from K+ to T.
Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.
It took them over an hour to get back to her apartment but neither complained about the long walk, both happy to walk the streets with each other for company.
They took off their coats after they'd entered her apartment and then Beckett went straight to the kitchen, getting them both bottles of water from the fridge.
"Thanks," Castle said as Beckett handed him the cool drink, before he quickly uncapped it and took a long drink, thirsty after their walk.
"What're we having for dinner?" Castle asked, realising he hadn't asked earlier, had been more concerned about whether she wanted him to stay or not.
"Pasta, with a special homemade sauce, a secret recipe my mother taught me."
"Sounds great," Castle smiled, "I was going to offer to cook while you rest but it doesn't look like that's going to happen now unless you give me the recipe?"
He was only joking, for one thing he knew she'd never let him cook while she rested and secondly, he highly doubted she'd give him the recipe since it was sounded like something special between her and her mother.
"Family recipe, Castle, and I'm under strict instructions from my mother to only share it with family." At Beckett's words, both Castle and Beckett had thoughts of the future, one where she was sharing the recipe with him because he was family.
"But you can help me if you like," Beckett said, the meaning of her words not lost on him as if he helped, he was sure to see at least some of how the secret recipe was made which meant she was willing to share something of her mother with him.
"You're mother would approve of you sharing it with me?" He asked, wanting to be entirely sure what she meant by her offer and wondering if maybe she saw the same thing for their future too.
"I'm not sharing it with you," Beckett replied then paused for a second, looking like she was thinking hard about something, "I think she'd approve of you though."
At Beckett's words, Castle's heart started beating frantically in his chest at what her words could possibly mean.
"Then I'd be happy to help," he smiled, now trying not to over think what he was doing and he'd just see where the evening would take them. He desperately wanted to press her up against her kitchen counter and kiss her until they forgot everything else but each other and from the looks she'd been giving him all day, he thinks she may want that too. He would wait though, wait for her to make the first move because he knew what he wanted, her, but he wanted her to be sure of what she wanted in return.
"You hungry yet? Or should we wait a bit before we start cooking?" Beckett asked, breaking Castle's from thoughts of his lips at her neck.
He cleared his throat before he answered, "yeah, a bit."
"Then let's get started," Beckett replied as she turned to her cupboards and started getting out all the ingredients.
"What do you want me to do?" Castle asked, content to just watch her work but thought he should probably help.
"Chop these?" Beckett asked, handing him two onions while nodding towards where she stored her knives and a chopping board.
They set to work, Castle taking her lead, doing whatever she told him too.
As they worked Beckett told him stories of her past, of her mother teaching her this recipe when she was young and how much she'd enjoyed cooking with her mother who had taught her many different family recipes that she hoped she could share with a family of her own in the future.
"You'll make some of the other ones she taught you for me some day?" Castle asked, enjoying getting to know her and her mother better and glad that when she spoke of these memories, they weren't tinged with the sadness that came later in their lives.
"Of course," she smiled as she dipped a spoon into the pasta sauce, lifting it to her lips to make sure it was ready. After deciding that it was, she dipped the spoon back into the sauce and held it out to him instead, "here, try this."
Castle leant forward, wrapping his lips around the spoon and hummed as the wonderful flavours hit his tastebuds while trying not to think about how Beckett's lips had touched the spoon only seconds before, "that's delicious."
Beckett smiled at his words as she began dishing up two plates and then she led them to the table, Castle following with their drinks.
Castle hummed again as he took a bite of the pasta, "this really is delicious, and since you were so secretive about what exactly you put in it, you're going to have to make this again for me sometime too."
She smiled and nodded at him, "do you have any secret family recipes of your own?"
"Not really," he replied, sad that this was something he'd missed out on, "but Alexis and I have made up some pretty good ones when she was younger so I'll have to make them for you sometime too."
"Sounds good," she said, still smiling at him, something she'd been doing all day and she couldn't have stopped it even if she'd wanted to.
They spent rest of their meal chatting easily like they had all day. Once they'd finished eating, they took all their dishes back to the kitchen where Beckett insisted that she could do the dishes later but Castle was adamant on helping her now.
"You're a guest, you helped cook dinner, you shouldn't have to help with dishes too," she argued but Castle was having none of it.
"I helped make the mess which means I have to help clean it up," he replied and it's not like they made much of a mess anyway but he wasn't leaving it for Beckett to clean up later.
"Fine," she acquiesced, only when Castle made no signs of letting her win.
So now there they were, standing side by side at Beckett's sink, her washing while Castle dried and neither could help but think about how domestic it felt or how right it had felt to spend the day together.
That thought had Beckett's mind kicking into overdrive, suddenly having the intense desire to tell him everything, to admit to him that she had feelings for him and she wanted this and everything that came with it.
She took a few steps away from him, turning abruptly as everything came crashing through her mind. She could have this, she thought, she just had to tell.
"Beckett?" he asked as he turned, wondering if there was something wrong, "are you okay?"
She didn't speak but nodded as she looked up at him, trying to find the courage to say what she suddenly wanted to. This was it, the moment she'd been waiting for but now she was too terrified to speak.
Castle took a tentative step towards her, not saying anything but trying to decipher what the look on her face meant.
He took another step closer when Beckett did nothing as she continued with her internal struggle, trying to form the words that she wanted to say but the problem was, she didn't know exactly how to say it.
She wanted to thank him again for today, ask him on a date, tell him she liked him, even tell him she was in love with him and kiss him like she's dreamed about doing since well before their undercover kiss.
Beckett was standing in front of him, opening and closing her mouth like she was trying to say something so Castle tossed the damp dish towel he had in his hands onto the counter and took another step forward, "Beckett?"
Her name on his lips pulled her out of her thoughts and she was the one to step forward this time as she closed the distance between them, rising on her toes as she grabbed his collar and kissed him.
He was still for a few seconds, shocked by her actions but once his brain caught up to what was happening, he quickly responded, winding his arms around her waist to pull her closer as their lips moved together.
She pulled back way too soon for Castle's liking but he reluctantly released her from his grip, letting her take the step back he knew she needed.
Both were breathing heavily as they stared at each other and when the silence became too much for him, Castle spoke, "what was that for?"
She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought, which only made Castle want to kiss her again, but she spoke before he could, "It was a thank you for today. Well, not just today, it was a thank you for everything. For always being by my side, for standing with me through everything, for holding me up when I was sinking and for not giving up on me," she paused, "and because I'm in love with you."
At her words, a small smile spread across Castle's face, quickly growing until he was grinning down at her, not being able to hide the happiness he clearly felt.
"I'm in love with you, too," he replied and now they were both grinning at each other as the weight of their words settled, at the thought that they feel the same way about each other.
He took a step closer to her again but this time he placed his hand on her hips to pull her slowly towards him until she flush against him.
"Is this okay?" Castle asked, not wanting to push too fast but she had been the one who had just kissed him after all.
She nodded, looking up at him through her eyelashes as she chewed her lip again.
Castle leant down and placed his forehead against Beckett's as her hands moved to rest against his chest.
"Is this okay?" he asked again.
Beckett nodded again, this time jostling his head slightly as it rested against hers.
"Good," Castle said and then he kissed her again.
Loved it? Hated it? Thoughts?
