April 2010

"Beckett, this is amazing!" Castle breathed out, daring Kate to read between the lines.

Yes, the castle was amazing - "Pražský hrad," Beckett had read aloud, and to his ears, nothing had ever sounded sexier.

"Prashky rad," he'd repeated after her, and she'd giggled, honest to goodness giggled, at his faltering pronunciation, before flashing him a grin.

"Guess you're better with English," she smirked, but there was no malice in her tone, just an honest joy that he thought - thought - was born from having a new language to explore. And perhaps, just maybe, she was happy to be there with him.

"Stunning," Beckett said, staring up at the Cathedral in front of them. "Ready?"

Castle nodded, letting her nudge him toward the entrance of the Prague Castle. Yes, this was amazing alright; the entire journey from the Charles Bridge, and Beckett was yet to let go of his hand.

They fell silent as they walked through the great church, the crowd surging around them as they meandered, their fingers interlocked as they trod upon the marble floor.

"The stained glass is incredible," Beckett murmured at last, tugging at Castle's hand and pulling him to a stop. He halted beside her, daring to edge in a little closer than might be socially acceptable, were they back in New York working a case, but Beckett just beamed at him. The filtered light casting a hazy glow across her face, and he leaned forward, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes as he stared into them, the hazel greener than ever in the warm surroundings of the building.

"Mmm," he agreed, unable to stop himself any longer; he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, closing his eyes as he felt her return the kiss, smiling into him as they touched. Soft, so soft, and he opened his mouth, daring to deepen the kiss before she jerked away, her cheeks aflame.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, taking a step back, but still clutching his hand, and he felt his brow furrow.

"Sorry? Sorry!" he exclaimed. But-

Sorry. No. No, he wasn't sorry but if she-

"No. No!" she said, her head shaking frantically as she tried to form words. She wasn't sorry? She was-

Rick swallowed, bringing his other hand to his head and scrubbing it through his hair before attempting to speak again. "Beckett?"

"Not sorry!" she clarified. "But- not here. Not in a church. It's-" she heaved out a sigh, her fingers tightening around his, an iron grip that spoke volumes more than her words were; she wasn't letting him go.

He let himself relax, exhaling as the tension left his body, and he gazed down at her, pulling her closer again and pressing a kiss to her forehead, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Come on," she whispered, tugging him back toward the entrance of the church. "Let's go."

Through the crowd, she led him away from the cathedral, stopping at last once they were a reasonable distance from the masses. She leaned over the edge of the low castle walls, gazing across the city, the orange roofs aglow against the clear blue sky.

"You okay?" he murmured, bringing his mouth as close to her ear as he dared, and she nodded, turning back to him.

"Overwhelmed?" she offered, and he nodded.

That was fair. From a few phone calls to this - kissing in a romantic foreign city - he, too, was struggling to catch his breath. "Good overwhelmed?" he asked, and she nodded shyly, her cheeks pink.

"It's just… a couple of months ago you know what Lanie told me?"

She paused, and he nodded for her to continue, leaning into her to hear the rest of the story and letting her scent envelope him as he did so.

"She - she said we were in-" she hesitated again, before the rest of the sentence tumbled out. "A long distance relationship." Beckett laughed, shaking her head and Castle smiled as her hair whipped around her face. It had been so short when he'd left New York. "And I said we weren't, that we were just friends-"

"And?" he urged her.

"And we're… not just friends, are we?" She ducked her head away as though she had said too much, and he took the opportunity to drop her hand, cupping her face in both of his.

"We're… not just friends," he confirmed, bringing his mouth to hers again, and this time she melted into him, pliant in his arms, her body soft and supple against his chest, her mouth hot against his.

This time, instead of the hesitant kiss inside the church, her tongue sought his, the barely there moans coming from her only serving to encourage him as he pulled her to him, pushing her harder against the wall in an attempt to get closer.

"Wow," he managed as they broke apart, and he was suddenly all too aware of the fact that again, if not inside an actual church, they were nevertheless at Prague's most popular tourist destination and that they were most definitely not alone.

"Come on," she said, her own attempts to get her breathing under control not fooling him at all, and he grinned, happiness washing through him as he gazed at a very aroused Beckett; if that look in her eyes - all sex and lust - was what happened after a mere kiss, well, he couldn't wait to take her back to the hotel room and-

"Okay," he said, forcing his own desire to temper down. Right now? They needed to get out of here before he did something that would get them both arrested.

She'd kissed Castle. Oh, god. She'd kissed Castle, and hell, she'd practically ground against him when the opportunity had - she blushed as she thought the word - arisen.

She brought her thumb to her mouth, biting down on the nail as she tried to get a handle on her own feelings. The rush of passion she'd felt, though, was astonishing. No matter how often they'd spoken in the last few months, no matter how much she'd tried to convince herself that it was friendship, and friendship only, that she felt for her former partner, she could deny it no longer.

She had feelings for him.

And he clearly had feelings for her.

And their mutual attraction - which had simmered since the moment he'd asked her 'where would you like it?' - was gaining tempo, unavoidable now that they were together again.

Not for the first time since they'd kindled their friendship over the phone, Kate wondered just how she'd worked side by side the man for a year at the precinct without anything happening. It was true, she guessed - absence made the heart grow fonder. Or something. Then again, if she were to be completely honest with herself, she had to admit that many a night Castle had featured in her thoughts, both waking and sleeping, and today's kiss was both a promise and a realization. The promise of what was to come, and the realization of what had been brewing since she'd accepted his offer of plane tickets.

The realization of what had been brewing since March last year.

They had to go back to the hotel.

Now.

You have no idea.

He'd had no idea.

None.

And now, caught up in the haze of muddled time zones and tangled sheets, all he knew was that his skin was humming.

That scene - the tequila, the sex - had been a mere shadow, nothing compared to its reality.

Then again, he supposed he shouldn't be so shocked.

The promise had been there from the start, even before they'd begun their… whatever this was.

"Beckett?" he asked.

"Mmm?" Her voice was muffled from where she was nestled against his chest, and he moved his hand, running it rhythmically across her back; he couldn't get enough of her. Not now. Not-

He swallowed the thought. One step at a time, he reminded himself, but even with that, his mind fought back; they'd taken plenty of steps this afternoon. "Are you- are… we… uh?"

She laughed, a throaty sound, and shifted so she could meet his eyes. "You're the author, right? Surely you've got words for this?"

"Uh-" he started, indignant. He had words for this. He did. But the Beckett he knew was skittish, likely to run at any moment. Everything she did was measured and cautious and-

Everything she did was measured and cautious.

He huffed out a breath, half a laugh as he was suddenly faced with the reality of the situation in a way that had honestly not occurred to him before. He'd known she liked him, knew she hurried home from work to skype with him on a daily basis, knew there was something there. And then she'd come to Prague.

Katherine Beckett had let him buy her a plane ticket and fly her across an ocean.

The Beckett he knew… well, he could still be prudent with his thoughts and words, but Beckett really liked him.

If the last few hours were anything to go by, maybe even… loved him.

More confident now, he spoke again. "We're… together, right? This isn't…"

"A one-time thing?" She flashed him a look, the answer clear in her blazing green eyes even as she mocked him. "That depends on whether you're moving back to New York."

"As soon as I can," he promised, the words spilling out. "As soon as Alexis is done with her semester at school and I've finished my contract. June. July at the latest-"

She cut him off with a kiss, her mouth lazy against his, and then more insistent.

"Beckett," he managed to mumble against her lips, but she shook her head.

"No more talking, Castle."