94. Chapter 94

After Lucky Stiff, Again

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'd have to be very lucky to own Castle. I'm not and I don't. Rating: K+ Time: See above.

Author's note: Yup. I've done this before. See Chapter 27.

May 2015

Rick walked Kate into their loft and then kissed her. "Happy anniversary, Mrs. Castle."

She kissed him back. "And a happy anniversary to you, too, Mr. Castle. Did you have a good time?"

"I always enjoy being with family and friends. Especially the most recent addition to the Castle family."

"Then why haven't you complimented me on how I look?" She teased. "I made a special effort to look nice tonight. I'd like to know that you appreciate it."

"You look great, as always." He said quickly.

"You don't like my hair." She said softly.

"I love your hair. I love every part of you. But I love your hair…almost as much as your other parts."

She smiled, but asked again. "What is it, Rick?"

"Nothing. There's nothing wrong. Really."

He started to walk to the bedroom, but she put her hand on his arm and stopped him. "We promised that we were never going to do this again. No saying that everything is fine when it isn't. And we promised that if one of us did that, the other would call him or her on it. Rick, please tell me what's wrong."

"It's really nothing. Nothing at all."

"Castle…" She began to glare at him.

"Okay, it's not nothing. But it's really minor. Hardly worth talking about."

Kate put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "In my opinion, it is worth talking about. Please, Rick, we can't let this happen to us. Not after all the problems we had because we wouldn't talk honestly to each other. Please?"

He hugged her to him and kissed the top of her head. "It's the dress."

"The dress? You don't like my dress? What's wrong with it?"

Castle looked somewhat embarrassed. "You were wearing it one of the many times that I thought you really hated me."

Kate nuzzled her husband. "Rick, I know that I said far too many things to you that I shouldn't have. I love you and I have loved you for a very long time. Now, tell me. Why did you think I hated you?"

Castle smiled down at her. "You may have mentioned it a few times."

"You're not answering the question." She said quietly.

"Okay, it wasn't so much what happened at the time you wore the dress, but it was what it happened after I kissed you for the first time."

Kate put her hand on his lips to stop him from saying anything else. "For the record, you kissed me and then I kissed you. And my kiss was for more passionate and exciting than your kiss. And it lasted longer."

Castle laughed. "You're right, of course. Your kiss was far superior to mine." But his smile faded. "And we didn't talk about it for, what, years. I figured you were angry at me for kissing you."

"Wait. I wasn't wearing this dress. I wasn't wearing a dress at all that night. What's wrong with the dress?"

"You wore it on our next case. The Jay Hixton murder. When we went looking for that drug dealer, Oz."

February 2011

Kate danced away from Castle after asking him to get then drinks. No. Castle thought. She didn't ask me to get drinks. She ordered me to get drinks. He looked at her retreating form as she danced away from him. She turned and glared at him. Crap! She saw me looking at her ass. How can I not look at her? He asked himself as he headed for the bar. She's incredibly gorgeous in that outfit. It shows off those long, trim legs, that perfect ass, the whole colossally remarkable package that is Kate Beckett. And it's not just the dress. She was perfect all dirty and sweaty digging up those buried jewels. Covered in smoke and not much else when her apartment was blown up…No! Don't go there.

I kissed Kate Beckett and she kissed me back. I know she kissed me back. I suppose she had to. We had to distract that guard. She probably thinks that I just kissed her to try to get her in bed or something. I know she's with DMB, so she's mad at me for taking advantage of her.

That's why she hasn't talked about the kiss. She's mad at me and doesn't want to be reminded of what happened. It was like I forced her to cheat on DMB. Well, I did grab her and kiss her when she had no other option but to go along with it. If that happened to me, I'd be furious. I'd hate whoever did that to me. Not that I'm her favorite person anyway.

Castle saw her charm her way past the bodyguard, then sit with Oz. Look at that smile. What I wouldn't do to have her smile at me like that.

May 2015

"And so you thought I hated you because you kissed me? Conveniently forgetting that I kissed you back?"

He shrugged. "We didn't talk about that kiss for years. And then it was just a funny story about how and when we first kissed."

"Would you like to know what I was thinking about?"

"Would I?"

February 2011

Kate allowed Rick to drive her home after they were done with Oz at the precinct. She sat in the passenger seat and occasionally looked over at her partner. Why hasn't he said anything about the kiss? He knows that I kissed him back. I initiated the damned second kiss! Doesn't he know that I wanted more? That I still want more? That I want…Oh, crap! That's it. He sees me as Josh's girlfriend. Kissing him is cheating on Josh. And who broke his heart by cheating on him? That bitch, Meredith. He sees me as a cheater like Meredith! Dammit. I should say something. What would I say? I'm not ready to give up on Josh, nor am I ready to be with Castle.

Dammit! How did I get in this mess? Okay, he's mad at me for kissing him. But he hasn't changed our relationship. Okay! That's it. I'll just act like nothing happened. The kiss was for no reason other than to distract the guard. We can just go on like we have been until I can figure this out. I can figure this out, right?

May 2015

"That was what you were thinking after we kissed?" Rick said, smiling.

"Yes, and now that you know that, we'll never talk about this again."

"I don't know about that."

Kate reached behind her and undid the zipper on her dress, then let it slide down until it pooled around her ankles. "What were you saying, Rick?" She asked softly.

He picked her dress up off the floor. "That I really kind of like this dress now. But I do like it better off of you."

She took his hand and led him to their bedroom.