"So your place or mine for the night?" he asked with a devious smile as he held her coat up for her.

A delighted little tremor scrambled up her spine at the question while she slid her arms through, at the certainty that they'll be together for the night even though it was such a regular occurrence now, but she actually had a different plan in mind and she didn't think it would be too difficult to convince him to come along.

"Actually, Forbidden Planet is playing at the Angelika and I wanted to catch tonight's showing."

"Forbidden Planet," he echoed, a strange note of curiosity to his voice. "Is, uh, is that the one with the robot?"

Her eyes widened at the confusion in his tone. No way, this movie screamed Castle, it was right up his alley. There was no way he hadn't seen it.

"You've never seen Forbidden Planet?" she asked and he shrugged, shook his head.

"More of a Star Wars, Matrix guy myself."

Oh, she had to remedy this. Her partner needed this movie in his life. She could already picture his eyes lighting up with wonder and his mouth falling open in awe.

"Oh, my gosh. Babe, this is the movie that inspired those two. That's it, I'm taking you. My treat."

"Ooh Beckett, treating me to a movie date. Can I have candy and popcorn?" he husked in her ear and she smirked, nudging him off when he lingered too long after smoothing her hair from inside the collar of her coat.

"Sure. Oh, Castle, you're going to love this. This is Leslie Nielsen before he became a comic genius," she gushed, so inexplicably giddy to witness him experience one of her favorite films.

"Really?" he grinned, seeming to feed from her excitement as they walked to the elevators together.

"Yeah," she grinned back. It was silly, but they had never actually gone to the movies together and maybe she was a little excited about that too, about sitting with him in the dark, sharing popcorn and hushed commentary, maybe a kiss or two if he didn't enjoy the movie as much as she hoped.

"Can we sit in the back and make out too?"

She huffed, ducked her head to hide the heat of her cheeks behind her hair because how did he know?

"No, I want you to enjoy the movie," she insisted and when she glanced back up at him, he suddenly looked somewhat indecisive.

"Okay, so, maybe I lied..." he hedged and she slipped her hand from his, placed both on her hips as she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh?"

"Well, for the sake of making out with you in a theater, I may have seen Forbidden Planet before," he admitted and she knew it, she knew him and she would bet he had probably seen this film as many times as she had. "Is our date off?"

"No," she quipped, stepping out of the elevator as the doors opened for them. "But any potential for a make out session in the back row probably is."

"Kate," he whined, trailing after her down the sidewalk to where her Crown Vic was parked. "I came clean, I was honest with you. Honesty is good. Honesty deserves reward."

"Not when the honesty had to be coerced from the liar," she smirked, unlocking her vehicle and waiting patiently for him to drag his feet across the concrete to reach the passenger side.

"Although loathe to admit it, I admire your morals," he grumbled, tugging his door open and slipping in the car with her. "And your love for amazing movies. It adds to the hotness."

She shook her head, put the car in drive and pulled out of her parking spot, eased into the flow of traffic heading towards the Angelika, that excited flicker in her chest still strong.

Despite her words from earlier, they still found seats in the back of the theater and he still managed to tease a kiss from her within the first half hour. By the second, he had 'accidentally' dropped their large popcorn and moved his hand to her knee, progressively sliding up, up, up to the apex of her thighs where she trapped his treacherous fingers.

"Castle," she muttered in warning, but he only wiggled his hand, his pinky brushing the seam of her slacks and causing her spine to stiffen.

"What if I earn your forgiveness?" he murmured as he leant in closer to her, his nose brushing along the shell of her ear.

"Definitely not here," she shot back, but she was already a little breathy and her response lacked the authority it needed to make him stop. Instead, it only encouraged him.

Her thighs were clenched around his hand, trapping it from wandering, but he could still move and the jerk of his fingers pressing against her through her pants had her muscles loosening, her legs spreading just slightly.

It was all he needed.

They were going to kicked out of the damn movie theater.

His hand deftly unbuttoned her slacks, slipped inside to palm the warm skin of her lower abdomen and she couldn't resist dropping her head to his shoulder, her view of the grand screen in front of them already going hazy.

They got kicked out of the theater.

"They didn't see our faces," he assured her, trying to keep up as she briskly strode away from the Angelika and back to the parking garage across the street, but her cheeks failed to cool in the chilly night air, her skin on fire, half embarrassment, half arousal, because she had not been allowed to finish.

"Kate, I'm sorry. Truly. I didn't mean to humiliate you or make you feel cheap," he went on, mistaking her silence and quick pace for anger, but she just wanted to get to the car, needed to get to the car. "I was being an idiot-"

They entered the parking garage and she finally reached her cruiser in just a few, long steps. He had paid forty dollars for two hours worth of parking time and they had barely spent one. She knew how to pass at least a few more minutes.

"Kate?"

She wrenched open the backdoor and shoved him inside, climbing in after him once he had managed to sit up, and slamming the door behind her, pounding her fist on the lock.

"You're not-"

"Castle, shut up and finish what you started," she growled, swinging a leg over his lap and sinking down, crushing her mouth to his and rocking hard into his body.

His hips jerked in surprise and he quickly unbuckled his belt, slid his zipper down, and repeated the same actions with her haphazardly buttoned slacks, pushed them down her thighs until she could slip them off with her heels and felt his hands on her bare skin.

She shoved her tongue in his mouth, swallowed the groan that rolled from his lips and onto hers when she freed him through the slit of his boxers. Allowing him to hold her by the hips, keeping her steady, she inched the damp satin of her panties to the side, held them out of the way, and guided him inside.

Kate expelled a breath against his neck as she slid down, taking him deeper until his length filled her entirely and she dropped her head to his shoulder for just a moment to adjust. And then she moved, shifted her hips, seeking that delicious friction, gasping when she realized he had unbuttoned her shirt just enough to slip his hand inside her teal blouse.

A high-pitched mewling sound slipped out of her throat when his fingers pulled the cups of her bra down and alternated between both of her nipples, tweaking the taut peaks and making her head spin. His other hand remained at her back, encouraging the motion of her lower half as she rode him, lifting on her knees only to sink back down with a twist of her hips that sent his teeth clashing into the ridge of her collarbone.

The fingers of her unoccupied hand curled tightly into the fabric at his shoulders as her head tilted back and his lips traveled to her neck just before he unexpectedly hauled her body closer, grinding their pelvises together, sandwiching her already sensitized bundle of nerves. Their fast, sloppy rhythm fell apart as she finally lost control, her spine bowing forward as the bursts of electricity fissured through her system.

The gripping squeeze of her inner muscles had him pouring hotly inside her seconds later and she slumped against him boneless as he relaxed back against the seat with his hands still clutching her hips. Her cheek was flat against his clavicle and she waited until the city lights outside the parking garage weren't so blurry before she lifted her head.

He was grinning, his neck still reclined into the cracked leather, his knees pressing into the back of the front seat, and she rolled her eyes but still leaned forward to nip playfully at the upturned lips.

"Hadn't done that in awhile," he murmured dazedly.

She huffed, flicked his ear. "We did it a few weeks ago in your Ferrari."

"Mm, I like the Ferrari better, but I could have you anywhere and it'd still be so good, Beckett," he hummed contently, sated and drowsy, and her nose scrunched, either in flattery or distaste, she wasn't positively sure.

"Well, that's… kind of sweet, I guess."

She maneuvered her legs off of him, attempted to adjust her underwear before giving up and slipping them off, tucking them inside the inner pocket of his blazer instead.

"Yep, I'm definitely in love with you," he nodded to himself while she tipped her hips up to pull her pants back on and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped.

She buttoned her shirt and ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to make herself presentable, or at least like she hadn't just had sex in the back of a car.

"C'mon lover boy, I'm starving now."

"Hey Alexis," he called, playfully swinging their clasped hands between them as they stepped inside the loft. "We brought dinner if you're hungry."

He was such a girl, practically exuding an afterglow ever since they had exited the parking garage and driven to their favorite Chinese restaurant. But even though she rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, it was kind of adorable.

"In that case, I wouldn't mind a bite."

Castle froze and Kate stumbled into his side, her eyes involuntarily widening at the sight of his ex-wife lounging comfortably on his couch with a mischievous little smirk on her lips. Alexis was in the armchair across the room, looking to both of them helplessly, and Kate shook Castle's hand off, tilted her head towards the kitchen.

The girl gladly rose from her seat at the silent call and made her way across the living room.

"What is she doing here?" Castle hissed, but Alexis threw her hands up in exasperation.

"She just dropped in while you guys were out," his daughter explained in a whisper as she followed them into the kitchen.

Meredith seemed to know they were talking about her, but looked as if she didn't mind one bit. Actually, she appeared pleased to be the center of attention and Kate clenched her fist around the bag of food before letting it hit the marble surface of the bar with a thump. Castle glanced to her warily, his glow from earlier completely gone.

"She didn't try to kidnap you, did she?" he asked Alexis and his daughter shook her head.

"She just said she wanted to see me, that's all the explanation I got," she murmured and Castle pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger before taking a deep breath and stepping towards the living room.

"Meredith," she listened to him greet.

"Kate?" Beckett turned her gaze to Alexis, noticed the strange anxiety creeping in the girl's eyes. "I think I may know why Meredith is here."

Beckett propped her hip against the counter and waited for Alexis to gather the courage to continue.

"I swear I didn't say anything, but I think she found out about you and Dad somehow. She has friends here, maybe they noticed something? I don't know, but she does this any time he has a relationship that lasts more than a month," Alexis explained, twirling the ring on her left hand nervously.

"So not often then?" Kate joked, actually easing the tension in his daughter's shoulders.

"No," she answered with a small smile.

"She didn't come around last year," Kate countered quietly, flicking her eyes across the room to see Rick and Meredith arguing in hushed tones and grit teeth. "Your dad and I were together for nearly a year then."

Alexis chewed on her lip and Kate winced at the habit she had passed along. "Maybe you're right. But why else?"

"Maybe she wanted to see you?"

Alexis scoffed, crossing her arms and shaking her head at the notion. "Least likely scenario."

Kate sighed under her breath. Alexis had confided in her about her feelings towards her mother in the past and she knew Castle's daughter held some bitterness towards the woman, not that she could blame her. She called her by her first name after all, it didn't get much more impersonal. But it made her chest ache, because even though Meredith was physically alive, Alexis had lost her mother long ago.

Kate had never attempted to fill the role Meredith had abandoned, knew it was something she could never be for Alexis and would never try for it either, but she had always understood the hurt that paled Alexis' crystal blue eyes whenever reminders of the parent she was lacking came up, and she had become accustomed to comforting the girl any time she could.

"Here," Kate said, untying the bag of food and handing her the container she knew held Alexis' order. "I'm starving and our food's going cold."

Alexis grinned up at her demurely, but accepted the takeout box and crawled into one of the seats on the bar, her back to her parents.

Kate knew he hadn't slept with his ex-wife since the near beginning of their partnership, over two years ago, but she still felt a twinge of jealousy at Meredith's persistent presence and how she ended up having her way, spending the night in Castle's guest bedroom upstairs.

Kate was taking off her father's watch, slipping her mother's chain from around her neck, when Rick entered his bedroom.

"Hey," he said cautiously, but she only arched an eyebrow.

"Is Meredith all settled?"

"Kate, I don't like it either-"

"Then why say yes?" she huffed, attempting to keep her temper down. "There are a plethora of hotels she has to choose from."

"As much as I don't personally enjoy Meredith's company, she is Alexis' mother. And even though Alexis is less than thrilled to see her, I have a hard time telling her no when she points out that she's here to see her daughter," he explained, scrubbing at his face with his hands.

"Sure that's the only person she's here to see?"

She regretted it the moment she said it, pursed her lips and sighed apologetically, but Rick persisted, coming up to stand beside her at his dresser.

"You know that ended, a long time ago-"

"I do know," she mumbled, fidgeting with the top button of her blouse.

"But you don't like having a woman I used to have casual sex with in our home?"

She ignored the our in that statement. It was too soon for him to be saying things like that, but she didn't want to overanalyze it and risk sending her mind into a potentially dangerous spiral.

"No," she concluded.

"This will be the last time it happens, Kate," he promised her, curling a hand at her nape and pressing soothing fingers to the tense muscles bunched underneath her skin.

She hummed in contentment before turning to face him, placing her hands on the strong bones of his hips.

"When we're married-"

"When?" he whispered and she squeezed at his hips, tugged him in closer.

"When," she confirmed quietly. "When we are married, none of your ex-wives are shacking up here for any reason."

"Got it," he nodded earnestly, but with a smile creeping onto his lips. "It'll just be you, me, Alexis, and my mother. One big pea pod."

She laughed and lifted her arms to tangle around his neck instead, swaying them slowly in the dim lighting in his bedroom.

"Sounds pretty good to me."