Disclaimer: Not mine, never gonna be. Just have fun reading. :)

Summary: Post-ep for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' No spoilers that I can detect...

A/N: When this story hit me, I couldn't stop it. It's pure fluff and totally from my own snippet of headcanon that has been in my mind for years.

For Li - might be my birthday, but that doesn't mean I'm the only one to get presents! ;)

Shut Up and Kiss Me

Castle laid on his back with Kate curled against him, asleep.

Tonight was definitely one of the best ones they'd had together, at least in his opinion. Dancing, finding 'their' song... unable to keep their hands off each other and nearly getting kicked out of the prom...

Then, their own "after party" here in the loft.

Yeah, it was awesome.

However, there was this one thing that kept a smile on his face, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. He wasn't sure if it was an accident or not, but he was sure Kate might have slipped and opened up a little more to him tonight. The only issue would be getting her to own up to it.

He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head, still smiling.

Kate snuggled into him even more, if that was possible (and apparently it was). She kissed his shoulder and turned her eyes up at him for a moment before asking, almost defensive, but not quite, "What? You've had that look on your face almost all evening."

"Just you, Kate Beckett. Just you." He chuckled lightly, and seeing she wanted more, he replied, "I'm not completely sure, but I think I discovered a new layer to the Beckett Onion tonight." When she didn't seem to follow, he continued, "Tell me, Detective, what kind of books did Rebel!Beckett read? Doesn't have to be specific, just, you know, series or genres."

"Okay..." Her brow furrowed adorably at his question and he wanted to kiss her again, but held back as she thought. In a moment, she said, "You know about the Russian Literature, mysteries, maybe a little horror and science fiction in there. Nothing that should really surprise you. Why do you want to know?"

"I'll tell you in a sec," said Castle, enjoying it maybe a little too much that she still seemed confused with his questions. "You said Science Fiction. Any specific series or titles you recall?"

"Do you have any theories, Mr. Castle?" Kate asked, as she started slowly drawing shapes across his chest with her index finger. "You're obviously leading to something, and right now, my mind is not on books I used to read."

Distraction. That was good - he knew he was getting somewhere. But that was it, wasn't it? A distraction. He was starting to find it hard to concentrate, and knew he needed to get to the point quick before his mind was blanked by her Jedi mind tricks.

"Actually, I do," he said, blinking and trying to ignore what she was doing to him. "I think you read books out of Star Trek: The Next Generation series."

"And what brought you to that conclusion?"

Blood. Pounding. In his ears.

He took a deep breath and focused on her eyes. Okay, not a brilliant idea, but still... "Something you said earlier this evening..." Her lips were on his ear and he was sure it was going to kill him. " - And something you're writing on my chest!" he finished.

Kate pulled a few inches away from him and her eyes flicked between his lips and his eyes. Her finger still dragging so very slowly across his left pectoral muscle. "Am I writing on your chest?" she teased, smiling that smile that was his and he nearly tossed the conversation out the window.

It was amazing the power she had over him.

"Yes, you are!" He grabbed her hand, then took it to his lips and kissed the back of it. It took a moment to right his brain again, because he definitely was in to the distraction, but he needed to prove this one fact. "You are writing the word Imzadi. It's the title of the Next Generation book that explores Riker and Troi's relationship before they were stationed on board the Enterprise, and it means 'beloved' in the Betazoid language." The way Kate smiled told him he was on the right track. "Also, at one particularly hot turning point of the story, Troi tells Riker, 'Shut up and kiss me.'"

Kate did just that, and when their lips parted, she bumped her nose lightly against his. "I'm a Star Trek fan, and yes, I loved the whole Riker/Troi thing, but it will never hold my heart as much as Nebula Nine." She rolled on top of him and said, "Now, what was that line again?"

"Shut up and kiss me," he answered, growling just a bit, and just before they could kiss again, he said, "And may fortune guide our journey."

She faltered and laid her forehead on his chest, both laughing at his unexpected quote. "Well, I can't argue with that, can I?" she said, then lowered her lips to his. It was sweet and full of promise. A promise of a future together and a lifetime of diving in with her and discovering even more about each other.

And he couldn't wish for anything else.