Kate had her knees pulled up against her chest as she balanced on a stool at the kitchen counter, banished there when Rick proclaimed he'd best take over lest injury befall one or both of them. The area was functional but small and its workspace limited, and while the intrinsic romance of its close quarters wasn't at all lost on his imagination, that door hadn't yet been opened to him in any unambiguous terms. He'd heard what she'd said, of course, her recognition and acceptance of his declaration, but he also understood, knowing her as well as he did, that the only thing he could possibly do now was to resignedly follow her lead.

"You know, when I asked for your help, Castle, I didn't mean kick me out of my own kitchen and take over," Kate said playfully as she eyed with mute appreciation his surprising prowess with the chef's knife.

"Man, you really hate to let anyone do anything for you, don't you?" Rick bit back with equal tone. "It's just veggies, Detective; please, let the master work in peace. Besides, it looks from here like you're kind of enjoying it," he said, splitting another mushroom with pompous flair. "The cop doth protest too much, methinks."

"Oh, please, that enjoyment you think you see is actually starvation happening right before your eyes. I mean, has it ever taken this long for a human to prepare a salad?"

Rick dropped the knife onto the cutting board and tossed the hand towel he'd draped over his shoulder in her face. "Hey, do you want this salad done quickly or do you want it done right?"

Kate flipped the towel back at him with an impish grin. "Just sayin', if I was here alone, it could've been both," she muttered, stretching her legs to the ground. "And your water's boiling, chef," she told him with a point of her finger for added effect.

Nonplussed, he looked back over his shoulder and grabbed for the box of pasta. "So, when it's boiling it's my water? I see how it is."

She couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I really have missed you," she said, her voice soft with affection, his back turned as he attended to the pot on the stove.

Rick poured and stirred and stepped back to the cutting board. "Sorry, did you say something? I couldn't hear you over the din of my magnificent feast."

She rolled her eyes emphatically, as she so often did in his presence. "Yeah, I did, actually. Too bad you didn't hear it, though. It was very complimentary," she teased wickedly.

"Well, I guess you can owe me one, then," he said, chopping on merrily.

She nodded him off and snatched a piece of tomato from the board. That time would come.

xxxx

They sat and ate leisurely from the couch, Kate's body still more comfortable there than most anywhere else, until the orange light from the afternoon sun faded into a hue of soft purple. The glass along the back of the house offered them an enviable view, each window framing a section of the sky like watercolor paintings hung in an art gallery, though neither seemed terribly drawn by the show, their focus largely absorbed in each other, albeit in most furtive fashion. The shift in the energy between them since his arrival was palpable, like the dynamic transition from day to night, both floating now in some fresh incarnation of them, though neither had yet given it voice.

"You sure I can't get you some more?" Rick asked, eyeing her empty plate with a self-satisfied smirk. "See what good can come of relinquishing a bit of control?"

"Okay, Emeril," Kate jabbed, "is that how you impress women, you boil them water and cut up a tomato for them?"

Rick dropped his mouth open exaggeratedly. "You wound me, Katherine. I did not simply cut up your tomato, I sliced it elegantly, and that water left your pasta perfectly al dente, thank you very much." He reached for his glass and foolishly downed too large a sip, leaving him to awkwardly attempt to clear the cough from his throat. "Wait a sec," he sputtered, "did you just admit you were impressed?"

"Might want to check a few more of those pipes, Castle. I'm not sure what you thought you heard, but I admitted no such thing."

He dipped his head meekly and washed down the dismissal with another gulp. "Okay, so, let's just say, hypothetically speaking, a guy like me wanted to impress a gal like you," he began in typical Richard Castle pushing-the-envelope style. "Any tips or pointers or suggestions you might be able to offer?"

Warmth filled her cheeks and she smiled without giving it away. "You mean besides trying to jump in front of a sniper's bullet for her?" Her arm grazed his as she pushed her plate away and her skin electrified. "Or being a loyal partner or a wonderful father or a talented artist?" She inched closer and he sat forward to meet her. "Or forgiving her for hurting you because that's not something she ever wanted to do?"

His eyes wandered to her lips and she remained close. "Detective," he said out of playful habit, a quaver in his voice, "my brain is walking a very fine line at the moment - well, for a very long time, actually, but that's not… - anyway, I don't want to make you uncomf-"

"Castle," she interrupted, "I really don't want to hide anymore." She leaned in and kissed his lips, brief and soft. "It's too hard," she whispered as her forehead met his.

"I'm curious, here. If I asked you to pinch me right now, would that seem inappropriate?" Rick wondered dreamily into the hush that followed.

"Maybe another time, Castle," Kate quipped, taking his hand. "Right now, I want cookies. My dad brought them up from Levain. You want some?"

"Sure, yeah," Rick agreed, "though I think you're going to have to bring them to me because I can't feel my legs right now." Her kiss had rendered him utterly useless, both physically and mentally.

She released his hand and pushed herself up off the couch. "Least I can do after that feast," she teased with a wink and headed off for the kitchen.

xxxx

"Thank you for sharing," Rick said as he brushed the stray crumbs from his shirt and sighed in satisfaction. They sat arm-to-arm on the couch, dessert offering an excuse but not the reason, and he wanted desperately to feel her lips against his again. His second taste of her had come and gone far too quickly and his first was too long past, and of all the moments they'd shared alone together, none felt more perfect than the one they were in.

"You talking about the cookies or something else, Castle?" she asked, opening the door enough for him to peer in.

"Well, I suppose in keeping with the day's theme of potentially humiliating confessions, my answer would have to be both. And I might as well add to that the fact that I can finally feel all of my body parts again after that..." He snapped his head towards her as the blush hit his cheeks. "I mean, not all of my...I didn't...I just...more cookies?"

Kate managed to swallow the laugh that nearly found its way to the surface. "Am I making you nervous, Castle, because you seem nervous?"

He had no idea why, but they suddenly flashed across his mind again as he struggled to formulate an answer that sounded remotely plausible given his idiotic bumbling. "You make me curious, actually."

"Curious, huh," she said with a crooked brow. "Okay, I'll bite. How so?"

"Are those my flowers hanging on the wall in the bathroom?" Her face changed instantly, as though, like one of her suspects, she'd been caught and didn't know quite what to say next, and he suddenly felt horrible for bringing them up. "I'm sorry, forget I said anything. You don't have to answer that."

"I wasn't sure you'd remember," she replied, choosing not to accept his pass.

He chuckled, not in mocking but rather in judgment of his own cowardice for never having made her understand how immeasurably important she'd become to his life. "You weren't sure I'd remember everything about the first time I saw you after some of the worst days of my life?" He stretched his arm out along the top of the couch. "That moment, Kate, opening that door to your hospital room and seeing you after what'd happened, is one that, I can assure you, will never, ever leave me."

Her eyes drifted to the hallway as he spoke, as though she was attempting to draw strength from the keepsake hidden there. "I wanted you to know, Castle. I wanted to tell you so badly that day. You say that moment was important for you, but for me, it changed my life."

"How?" Rick asked without even a breath to consider whether or not he should.

"I knew I couldn't be with Josh anymore after that." She turned and met his eye. "And that I had to finally admit to myself and to face why that was."

"I'm really going to miss him, by the way. Shame I didn't get to say a proper goodbye." His eyes grew wide. "Ooo! Maybe I'll send him some flowers," he wisecracked with a contented smile. "Too soon?"

Kate gave him a look and he offered an apology, albeit one oozing insincerity. "I'll miss him too. He's a good man, Castle." Rick nodded, knowing it was true. "But he's not you," she said, biting gently at her lower lip. "And the truth is that I'm in love with you. That's what I know every time I see those flowers, or one of your books on the shelf, or open my eyes in the morning, and not saying it out loud hasn't made it untrue, so, there, now I've said it."

Rick couldn't catch his breath. His heart was beating like he'd just run an Olympic sprint. "Did you just-"

"So, do I still owe you one, Castle," she said, audibly proud of the articulation she'd held back for so long, "or will that make us even?"

He moved his hand from the back of the couch and drew his thumb along her cheek, settled his fingers in her hair. "How about this: you let me make you breakfast and then we'll call it even."

Kate leaned into him, her lips nearly brushing his ear. "Just so you know, I like to stay in bed late on the weekend," she whispered.

He smiled and drew her mouth to his. "Oh, I think the chef can honor your special request, Detective," he said, and he kissed her deeply.

End