A/N: Last chapter! Thank you for all the kind reviews, follows, and favorites. I'm amazed at the response this story has gotten. So strange what one snippet of an idea can grow into, isn't it?
All of it is true, Kate realizes as her mouth slants over Castle's, hands lifting to tug at the dark strands of his hair. Burke had spent months telling her that her greatest hurdle to overcome was herself, of learning not to shut her emotions off, to accept the help, the friendship and the love that the people in her life offer. And she is tired of fighting, of staring down demons and ghosts all alone.
She isn't a failure if she allows someone to fight with her. She's only a failure if she gives up the fight altogether.
"I know," Kate sighs, hair tumbling across her back in haphazard curls as his lips mark a trail against the line of her neck, "God, Castle, I know," she's crying again, tears filling her eyes and quickly overflowing onto her cheeks, leaving the bitter taste of salt in her mouth as they trickle down to her lips.
"Kate, no, shhh. Don't cry, okay?" Rick is there immediately, fingers brushing at the drops, mouth light and soft at her temple. "I hate seeing you sad."
He is truly the sweetest man she's ever met, so considerate and attentive to the emotions and needs of those around him. Sometimes, like now, it takes her breath away at just how large of a heart Castle has, how openly he puts it on display and yet how cautious he is with revealing the depth of his feelings. For their whole partnership it's been small gestures, endless cups of coffee and quiet, steadfast faith.
And she loves him for it. She desperately loves him.
"I'm not sad, Rick," she replies, tilting her head upward to meet his eyes, "I'm just overwhelmed by you." Kate can feel the grin that stretches her mouth wide at the slow dawn of comprehension in his face, and its a marvelous thing to watch the darker flecks in his eyes suddenly burn bright and begin to twinkle, the shy little boy smile curving at his lips with enough glee that she can't help but want to kiss him.
"Overwhelmed, well…." that confident bluster is back, the reserved little boy almost giving way to the ridiculous and self-assured man that Rick Castle grew up to be. It's the type of transition that she loves, the exact sort of thing that usually has her hiding a smile behind a coffee cup or her hand lest he see just how much delight she draws from the easy happiness Castle can find in the mundane elements of life.
"Don't be arrogant," Kate chides him gently, mouth sweeping against his jaw, "Just appreciate the fact you are very important to me."
The chuckle he releases is loud enough to fill the room, the vibrations rumbling into her body where they stand pressed together. Somehow his hands are mapping the bare skin of her waist, shooting shivers of want licking across her spine. "Important?" he's teasing her again when he speaks, Kate can tell it from the higher pitch of his voice, the careful track of his fingers as they draw letters and shapes over her abdomen, "I'm so much more than important, Beckett."
Her smile is indulgent, the type that she only gives him in the spaces before dropping a teasing quip at his expense or before she nips one of his insane theories lest he really go on a roll in telling the story. It's a grin that makes Rick pause, regard her with a question dancing in his eyes though he doesn't speak a word. For once, Kate has a free pass to take the lead, and the assurance that he will follow wherever she wants to go.
"You are," she agrees with a soft hum, mouth soothing and full of promise when it brushes his own, "Much more than important," Kate grins at him, knowing the truth and her quiet declaration is mapped across every line of her face before she speaks a single word, "because I love you."
For a moment, Rick thinks his knees will buckle. It's amazing how much power three words can have, and he closes his eyes against it, allows her soft spoken truth to fill him up and bask in the unbridled joy of what he's hoped for for so long. Kate loves him, and its enough. It's more than enough.
"You love me," he repeats her words almost as if they are a question, his irrational heart thumping wildly in his chest in delight even as his emotion-logged brain struggles to catch up. Kate's responding laugh, her shy and reserved smile, it all takes him higher, unleashes that part of himself that Rick has kept so carefully locked away.
"I love you, Castle," Kate replies, simple and matter of fact. No over the top words of love, no dramatic declaration, just the truth. It's her truth, a simple and wonderful thing that sends frissons of desire and exuberant joy into his veins.
For a woman who has always valued and drawn strength from his words, Rick instead chooses action. She's open and trusting when he kisses her, need already sizzling hot and heavy between them long before her tongue breaks against the barrier of his lips to begin a slick slide in the warm cavern of his mouth.
But it's like a moth to a flame, or lightning striking a tree in how quickly the hesitant, cautious kisses and touches burn into something deeper. He's already on fire from Kate's touch, skin burning wherever her hands fall, breath stuttering in helpless little gasps at the feel of her hips slowly pressing into his.
Her fingers are confident as they work at the buttons of his shirt, the cotton fabric pulling apart to reveal patches of skin that make Kate's mouth go dry. She can't help herself, doesn't try to stop from tasting the new territory, memorizing the dips and valleys of his skin, the small scar high on his right ribs. Any piece of him that she can reasonably touch with her mouth is paid equal reverence, shirt forgotten where it fames his torso in two neat halves.
Time slows down then, dissolves into nothing but the feel of skin on skin, of seeking lips and breathy sighs. Thier ability to communicate without a word, her gentle encouragement at the unvoiced question is what draws the large t-shirt over head, leaves Kate standing on shaking legs at the press of Castle's mouth over her skin, the wet slide of a tongue and sharp bite of teeth as they nip at her collarbone.
The path he takes is a direct one, mouth skimming down the valley of her chest even as hands secure themselves at her waist. In one fluid move, she's hoisted against Castle's broad chest, skin pressed against skin in a way that lights her blood on fire and further fogs her brain with a distinct haze of lust and want with her hips neatly slotted against his.
The moan slips out the second Kate's hips roll forward, the friction of their lower bodies gentle drawing together taking Rick completely by surprise. For a moment he has to abandon the exploration of her body, close his eyes and swallow the heady swell of arousal that tempts him to merely press Kate against the closest flat surface. And she laughs at him when he stutters, a trilling and beautiful sound that summons his own grin.
"I love you, Kate," he says, quiet confidence and joy coloring his voice as her hands fist against the dark strands of his hair, "I love you so much." Those words slide like a gentle breeze over her skin, his heart bursting with the truth of it, the absolute magnificence that fills him up at finally being able to tell her. Rick see the tears and exhilarating curve of a smile on her face, feel the slow increase of her heartbeat where his lips trace the raised scar tissue that represent the very worst of their time together.
But she's here, beautiful, whole and wonderfully his.
And it's enough, Rick thinks as he carries Kate over the threshold into her bedroom, carefully places her at the edge of the bed with one lingering touch of their mouths.
It's everything.