Unlocked

It's been two days since Castle last saw Kate. Forty-eight long hours have passed by without talking to her; without holding her in his arms. He's used to seeing his girlfriend daily, but between his meetings at Black Pawn and a hard case that's kept Beckett busy for the last few days, Castle hasn't seen her since Monday morning, and today is Wednesday.

Castle has yet another meeting tomorrow, and Beckett's case will undoubtedly not be finished yet, but he can't stand to go another minute without seeing her, let alone an entire day. So he decides to show up at her apartment that evening to surprise her, bringing a bottle of wine, a single red rose and a smile. But when he knocks at the door, she doesn't answer. Frowning, he reaches for his phone, but he pockets it again after his two phone calls go unanswered.

Beckett must not be home for the evening yet. Maybe he should have called before he came, to make sure that he didn't waste a trip to her apartment. Supposing there's no harm in trying once more before he goes back home, he brings his fist to the door one last time, pressing his ear against it after he knocks to focus on listening to the noises, or lack thereof, inside the apartment. After a moment, he can hear distant footsteps, and seconds later, the door opens to reveal Kate Beckett clad in a bathrobe, with her hair dripping and her skin still damp.

They've been together for the better part of four months, but watching Kate light up the moment she sees him, knowing that he's the reason for her joy, still leaves him breathless.

"Hi," he greets her. "Is it a bad time?"

"No, come in," she answers, giving him a sweet kiss as she takes the rose he extends for her. Beaming, she gestures for him to come inside the apartment. "I was taking a bath."

"Great! Can I join you?" he asks, raising his eyebrows in a seductive manner. Or at least, that's what he's aiming for.

"Too late, Castle. Next time," she throws over her shoulder on her way to her bedroom.

While Kate goes to change, Castle heads for the kitchen, pulling two wine glasses from one of the cabinets so that he can serve the wine. The fact that he is comfortable enough with his girlfriend's kitchen to know where her wine glasses are stored fills him with pride, as does the fact that he's actually able to call Kate his girlfriend, even if it's only in his mind. After all, aside from their closest relatives, only Lanie, Ryan, and Esposito are aware of their relationship. If he could, he would plaster huge posters all over the city proclaiming their relationship status, and he would even spend a fortune to place a glowing announcement in Times Square. Unfortunately, his relationship with Kate has to remain a secret to almost everyone, due to NYPD regulations about coworkers dating. He knows Kate's career is important to her, and he can't risk being kicked out of the precinct, not to mention Kate losing her job. It's not a situation that they can maintain long-term, but it works for now.

Before his imagination can run any wilder, Kate rejoins him in the kitchen, wearing yoga pants and a red t-shirt that Castle could swear disappeared from his closet a couple of years ago. He extends one of the wine glasses to her, and they both get comfortable on the couch, side by side, facing each other.

"You know?" Castle starts. "Next time, you could warn me when you're about to take a bath. That way, I can join you in the bathtub, and we can save water. And the neighbors wouldn't threaten me with calling the cops if I don't stop pounding on your door."

"I didn't know you were coming," she shrugs.

"I wanted to surprise you! I've missed you. It's been two days since we last saw each other," he whines, with an exaggerated pout.

"We've been apart for longer than that before," she reminds him in a soft voice, running a hand through his hair in a sweet gesture.

"I know, and it wasn't fun," Castle mumbles.

At his comment, Kate lowers her head, with a serious and almost ashamed look in her eyes. Castle regrets his words as soon as they leave his mouth. They've never spoken about the summer they spent apart after her shooting. He now understands her reasons for wanting to be alone, away from the city, but it doesn't make the memory any less painful. However, it wasn't his intention to put a damper in their mood, so, with a chipper tone, he goes on, hoping that Kate will forget his comment.

"Anyway, I'm not letting it happen again. So I'm instituting a new rule for us to follow from now on: no more than twelve hours apart."

"Twelve hours?" she chuckles, meeting his eyes again.

"It's non-negotiable. I'm being generous here. I won't spend one more day away from you, Kate. I'm always going to be here, so if you have a problem with that, you'd better say so now," he assures her.

"Are you serious?" she whispers.

"Deadly serious. It's my last offer. Take it or leave it."

Kate stares at him for a moment, and then, without a single word, she rises from the couch and makes her way towards her bedroom.

"Um, Kate?" Castle calls, suddenly insecure. "I didn't mean it. I didn't want to smother you. It's just that I think that our relationship is going pretty well, and… I mean, I like to spend time with you, but if you feel like I'm being too clingy, you can…"

He trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished, as soon as he sees Beckett reappear in the living room, a nervous expression on her face as she fiddles with something that she holds in her hands. He can't tell what it is from his seat on the couch, but it's small, and as she moves it through her fingers, the light reflects off of it, glinting off of the walls.

She sits back next to Castle and, shyly, without looking him in the eye, puts the object in the palm of his hand.

Looking down, Castle sees it's a key.

"Next time, let yourself in," she says, keeping her eyes averted to her lap.

She tries to act nonchalant about it, but it's all that is: an act. He can see the undercurrent of shyness and uneasiness that comes with her words. It's in her eyes, too, but when she looks up at him, he catches a glimpse of something more for just a second- something very close to raw affection and another feeling that they haven't worded yet. At least, she hasn't.

When he closes his fist around the shiny new key, Castle has to bite his tongue to prevent himself from setting free the three words that he longs to say to her. The last time he allowed himself to say the words aloud, they were spoken to a woman who was dying; a woman whom he thought would never get the chance to hear those words again. They seem almost sacred now; as though speaking them again will transport them back to that moment, to a time when he thought he would never see her again.

His eyes meet Kate's, and he knows that even if neither of them says it, they both feel it. And that's enough.

He doesn't have the words, but he has the key. Her key.

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