Author's note: Hey guys, quick update here! Thank you for all of the people who still found the willpower to read this after my absence. Especially the people who took the time to review, you made my day. Now, I'm not that confident about writing smut, but practice makes perfect, right? This is pure fluff. We need some positive shit in our lives right now. I hope you're all doing okay x

Disclaimer: I think we got this covered by now, right?

It took him a moment to realize why he couldn't breathe. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw Kate Beckett sprawled across his body. She had possessively thrown her arm around his stomach and her head was leaning on his chest. Her leg was tangled in his and he could feel his heartbeat quickening at the sight. He kissed her forehead and laid back again, hoping that it wouldn't wake her up. Slowly, the memories of the night before started filling his mind. He could feel himself stir at the thoughts. Instead of letting his mind roam, like he'd usually allow himself to do, he managed to picture his mom doing laundry. Yeah, that seems to be doing the trick.

While Kate was still fast asleep, he knew that he'd have to wake her soon. He looked over at his alarm and saw that he only had two hours before he had to leave in order to catch his plane. Rick tightened his grip on her as she started to move a few minutes later.

''Morning sleepyhead.'' She groaned in response. ''How's the hangover?'' He pushed some hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He waited another minute before adding: ''Do you want me to drop you off at your parents?''

''I don't want to face them right now, to be honest.'' He chuckled and she softly smacked his chest, still hiding her face. ''Don't laugh at me.''

''You could also stay here if you want?'' She gave him a shocked look. He laughed. ''I've got nothing to hide. Except maybe that one thing in the back of my closet-''

''Are you serious?''

''Yeah, I mean, why not? It would give you a place to study and the fridge is always full, deliveries are on Friday by the way. It might be a nice place to stay and I don't know, relax for a change. Something you don't do very often. And I'd actually love to see you here again sometime soon.''

''How do you know I won't steal anything?'' She said, still unsure of his suggestion. In the back of her mind she wondered how many girls had had the same offer.

He laughed. ''Kate, I think that we both know that if you were to steal anything it'd be one of my sweaters and those look way better on you anyway. Besides, I know where you live.''

She stayed still for a moment, weighing her options. He tried to keep his breathing steady, trying to keep her from realizing that his anxiety was playing up. He'd never said that to anyone before. Is it too soon? He wondered. Instead, she just laid her hand on his heart and leaned up to kiss him.

His hand immediately reached to cup her cheek and she turned into him a bit more, trying to get rid of the awkward angle. He moved his hand down her body and one of them ended up on her leg. He pulled her even closer to him and she sat up to straddle him.

Rick groaned at the contact. Before he could respond to her, she'd already lowered herself and started kissing him again. Unsure of how much he could really take in this position, he flipped them over. She laughed softly at the urgency of his action. She opened his legs and he eagerly settled between them.

He stopped to look at her again, his breath uneven. ''Did you just laugh at me?''

''Yes, I was just trying to-'' She was cut off again by his urgent kiss. His teeth softly biting on her lower lip. She made a sound that was a mix between a groan and a moan, only spurring him on even more. Rick moved his lips from her mouth down her neck, biting, sucking and licking the sensitive spot in her neck.

She grasped his bicep to pull him away. ''You're going to leave a mark.''

He pulled back for a second, a smug grin on his face. ''I know.''

''CASTLE.'' That kicked him off his game for a second.

''I'm sorry?'' He tried, his face not reciprocating the words that had just left his mouth. He gently kissed her again. ''I guess that you really do have to stay here now for the day, huh?''

''Oh, I see what you're getting at. Smart, Castle.''

''It's really hot when you call me Castle while we're in bed, you know.'' That unfortunately slipped out. He would slap himself if he wasn't holding himself up by his elbows in order to keep from crushing Kate.

She lowered her voice. ''Is it, now?'' He dumbfoundedly nodded.

''Well, Castle, I believe that-''

''Stop it.'' He forced out, using a low tone, that she hadn't heard him use before.

The fire in her stomach was building as she looked him in his eyes, which had gone dark. Instead of stopping like he pleaded, she just wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even closer. Rick wasn't really sure how much he could take. Her fingers slightly pulled on his hair, forcing his lips back to hers. It wasn't long before she'd opened her mouth and welcomed his tongue with much enthusiasm. She'd expected him to accelerate again, but instead he slowed down after a while again. His tongue tangling slowly and deliberately with hers.

He pulled back, panting. He made his way down her neck again, taking extra care of the sensitive spot he'd marked earlier. It was only then he realized that his hands were under her shirt. She had made no comment about it, but he pulled them back anyway, safely resting his hands beside her, trying to keep his weight off her.

Rick gave her a few more haste kisses before dropping himself next to her.

She looked amazing even with her lips plump from their lovely make-out session. Instead of going for another round, he held out his arms and waited for her to scoot back into his arms. He held her tightly as she pushed her back into him. Even though he knew that he was hard by now and there was no denying his attraction to her, she didn't seem to mind that he was pressing into her.

He tried to even out his breath again but feeling her body so close to his really wasn't doing the trick. A few minutes later, he felt her relax into his arms. ''I could get used to this.''

''You keep saying that.'' She said, softly, already back on the edge of falling asleep again.

''I'm going to let you sleep for a few more minutes. I need to go shower, okay?'' She groaned in response and it made him chuckle.

Rick made his way to the bathroom and Kate had fallen asleep within minutes. After a little while she felt something vibrating next to her. Her phone, it was her phone. Get your mind of the gutter.

She scanned the name on the screen before abruptly sitting up.

''Mom, hi! I wasn't expecting you to call.'' Kate rubbed her eyes, in the hopes that she would be able to concentrate more on what her mom was saying. It didn't work, obviously.

''I know you weren't expecting me to call. How was last night? Have any fun?''

''Yeah, it was okay.'' Kate tried to put some emotion, any emotion into her voice but she was failing desperately.

Rick picked that moment to walk back into his bedroom clad in his boxers, freshly showered and shaved. He was still rubbing his hair dry as he grabbed a shirt from his closet. Kate watched him closely, forgetting what she was doing to begin with.

''Just okay, huh?'' She heard her dad flipping through the newspaper in the background. ''Well, I think that you might have some other things to deal with today, so I called Madison to pick up your shift for today, all right?''

''I- Thank you?'' Kate stumbled. Rick sat down next to her on the bed, his eyebrows raised questionably.

''Don't sound so surprised Kate, you don't think I know what it's like to drink while out with friends? Please.'' She didn't even give Kate a second to react as she continued. ''Will you be joining us for dinner tonight or do you have other plans?''

''I'm not sure yet.''

''Alright, well, let me know. I'll save some for you if you want.''

''Thanks mom, I'll talk to you later.''

''Say hi to Rick for me by the way.'' Yeah, she should've seen that one coming.

Kate had showered and grabbed one of Rick's sweaters out of his closet. He'd told her she could grab whatever she liked and that's not something she would be told twice. When she finally made her way to the living room Rick was already dressed and sitting at the counter, breakfast ready.

She looked over the contents on the counter in front of her. A glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee, scrambled eggs, toast and some bacon. She instantly reached for the coffee and took a sip. Rick quickly kissed her cheek and then started on his breakfast as well.

She blushed. ''What was that for?''

''You just looked kind of cute wearing my sweater and all that.''

''Cute?'' She gasped. ''Richard Castle, you think I look cute?''

He quickly swallowed his food, thinking he'd said something wrong. ''Um, yes? Why is that so hard to believe?''

She shook her head and went back to her food. ''Never mind.''

Rick decided to let it go for the moment, if that was something she wanted to talk about, she would. They ate together in silence and even managed to get in another refill of coffee before Rick had absolutely needed to pack his bag. She was tempted to help him, knowing he would probably forget one or two essential items. That was until after she'd realized he'd been living in this big apartment all by himself for the past few months. He's a grown man with responsibilities.

It made her wonder about her own future. While she was studying and working all the time she hadn't even had time to think about her next step. Sure, she was on her way to becoming the first female Chief Justice of the supreme court. That's what she had been focusing on for the past several years. She tried to shake the thoughts. We'll burn that bridge when we get there. Still, it stayed in the back of her mind for a while as she finished her coffee.

She'd saved some money for sure. Her parents had thankfully set up a college fund, it didn't cover all of the cost, but she could at least get through the first two years without any trouble. It was also one of the reasons why Kate had found it hard to say no to her parents. After all; they were paying for her education. Why not pay them back by helping them in their restaurant?

Rick walked back into the living room and made some noise to announce himself. Slowly, he turned her chair around. She wondered if he got these chairs just for the spinning part. He could see her thinking.

''Yes, I did buy them because they can do that.'' She raised a brow and he laughed sheepishly.

She opted reacting but seeing him squirm was much more fun. He tried his luck and leaned into her for a chaste kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gently pulling at his hair for him to come closer. They definitely knew where this was going and so, Kate softly pushed Rick away.

''Rick, I know that you can make the airport in thirty minutes… but let's make sure that you get there with some time to spare, all right?''

''I'll see you soon, right?''

She nodded. ''I'll pick you up at the airport.''

''You promise? As in pinky promise?'' He said, a teasing look on his face.

''I promise.'' He leaned in once more before stepping back and grabbing his bag from the couch. He was still standing in the doorway when he yelled: ''There's something on the bed for you.''.

She sat in his kitchen, stunned that he had actually left her in his apartment. Curious about his last remark, she made her way to the bedroom again. On his bed lay a set of keys with a forbidden planet keychain. She picked them up and held them to her chest, touched by his gesture. She let herself drop on the bed and slowly crawled under the covers again. She clutched his pillow to her chest and took a deep breath. The rest of the day could wait.

After Kate had fallen into a coma (again) at Rick's place, she woke up around noon to the sound of her phone ringing. Lanie had apparently found some time to let Javier hang out with his boys and therefor was bored out of her mind. They decided to meet up for lunch and get the gossip while it was still fresh.

Lanie took a sip of her tea as she waited for Kate to claim her coffee from the barista. They took a seat in a booth near the windows. It took Lanie approximately three seconds before getting right down to business. Kate was still trying to take her coat of when Lanie slapped a newspaper in front of her.

''Are you- is that- that's his sweater isn't it?'' She semi-whispered. Kate's eyes almost bulged out of her eyes as she realized her mistake. ''Looks like someone had fun last night.'' She said, suggestively.

''We didn't.'' Lanie narrowed her eyes at Kate. ''We didn't!''

Lanie took a small sip of her tea. ''Good for you, honey.''

''I swear to whatever is up there'' Kate said, pointing upwards. After another (well earned) eye roll by Lanie, she added defensively: ''Lanie, there's nothing to be gained here? It didn't happen.''

''Something happened.''

''Well, it was close.'' Kate admitted, hiding her smile behind her cup of coffee. ''And I kinda have the keys to his apartment.''

''You have the keys to his house now?!'' Lanie's voice went up an octave and Kate immediately regretted every single thing that had happened to lead to this moment. ''Jesus, what happened after you two left last night. I'm going to need some details soon or I might explode.''

''I can see that. Keep it down.'' Kate tried, looking around to see if Lanie had attracted any attention.

''Hold up, just gotta let the chamomile tea do its job.'' She took small sips and stayed still for a few minutes, letting Kate enjoy her coffee in silence while reading the newspaper. Kate had finally made it to page six, which contained the gossip column of the New York Post.

Lanie looked at Kate expectedly. Kate was clearly confused until she saw the picture of Rick and her pressed together tightly and most importantly, making out on the dance floor.

''Girl, that's a good shot of the two of you.'' Kate chuckled, Lanie was right. It was a damn good picture.

''His publisher is going to kill him.'' Lanie let Kate go through her thinking process in peace. ''Lanie.'' Ah, there it is. Lanie chuckled softly to herself.

''Yes, my darling Kate.''

Kate looked up bewildered. ''My parents read this paper.''

''Uhuh.''

''They- she called this morning-'' She managed to get out, trying to keep her breathing even.

''Of course.''

''Is there any chance they might not have seen it?'' She said, hopefully.

''Nope, sorry boo. She knows.''

''I thought so.''

''Are you freaking out? I feel like this is something you might not be comfortable with. You know, with you on your way to being the first female Chief thingy?''

''I'm not freaking out'' She said sharply. ''Okay, maybe I am freaking out. Is this a bad thing?''

''I'm not sure, but it looks like you have to discuss this with writer boy. It could seriously damage your career before it has even started.''

''It'll be okay.'' She said, more to herself than to Lanie. ''I'm not even recognizable in this picture, right?'' Lanie nodded in agreement.

''Did you know that he paid for the bill yesterday? He paid the full bill, not just what the two of you drank.'' That did sound like Rick. ''Any chance we can get him to come with us more often?''