A/N: 1) I'm sorry this took so long. The muses left me. I sincerely apologize.

2) A couple of chapters ago, Bigboss87 commented "Kate is such a tease and Rick is so in love" and I thought that sentence pretty much summed up this entire story. Well, this chapter is a well-deserved role-reversal. If that makes any sense at all. You'll see.

Anyway: Enjoy!

DAY 13: Us

They cleaned up quickly in the bathroom, but this time didn't bother with the robes and went, naked as they were, straight into their bedroom. In an unspoken agreement they collapsed next to each other, shared a last, slow kiss and passed out on the bed.

To take a two hour nap at three in the afternoon was not a rational, adult thing to do, but neither of them cared. This entire bet hadn't been rational, or adult, or even remotely smart.

When Kate woke up and found herself snuggled into his warm embrace, she had to admit that she'd done a lot of irrational and immature things since Rick Castle had come into her life. She didn't mind one bit where his "dumb ideas" had led her. He was her one and done, her always, her everything, and when he stirred next to her, she pressed her mouth to his shoulder and waited for him to wake up.

"Isitmornnyet?" he mumbled and she chuckled, pressing another kiss to his warm skin.

"No, it's almost 5pm. What is your stomach saying? Are we ordering in?" she asked as he pulled her on top of him and sweetly kissed her nose. He contemplated her question as he rubbed his hands up and down her sides.

"If we wanted to cook, we'd have to clean up the kitchen first…"

She grinned and gave him a peck. "That's a definite turn-off, isn't it?" Her foot slid up and down his calf. "So what is it going to be, Chinese or Italian?"

His eyes studied her curiously, his hands caressing the back of her thighs now. "Why do I get to choose?"

Her face lit up with a radiant smile. "Because I love you" she told him without hesitation and the smile spread onto his face as well.

"What did I do?" he wondered out loud and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly.

"Nothing" she answered, shaking her head lightly. "So much" she added and kissed him softly.
"I love you" she said again, just for the sake of saying it out loud and seeing his eyes respond and shine with emotion.

"I love you, too" he said and they shared a moment and a smile that would put Hollywood movies to shame. "And I love Chinese" Rick added and their laugh was accompanied by an eye roll on Kate's part.

For the first time that day they dressed in actual clothes, albeit casual ones. Together they cleaned up the chocolate-y mess they had left in the kitchen while waiting for their Chinese to arrive. When the table was swiped free of the evidence of their passion, Kate wandered over to the entertainment system and looked through the Castles' large assortment of DVDs.

"Can we watch 'The Proposal'?" she called across the room as Rick opened a bottle of red wine.

"Do you want to watch it because Ryan Reynolds is naked in it, or are you trying to subtly drop a hint?" he answered with a question of his own and filled the first round bellied glass. Neither of them shied away from the topic of marriage, as Rick had already announced some months ago that he planned on making her his wife one day soon.

"What if I want to watch it because Sandra Bullock is in it?" she answered with a sly smile and he was still trying to come up with a fitting response when the doorbell rang.

Giving the shy young student a generous tip and an autograph for his mother, Rick accepted the loads of food and carried them into the loft.

When they were halfway into the movie, they were also halfway through the bottle of wine and on a legitimate food coma high from the incredibly good Chinese takeout. So when Sandra Bullock started to dance around the fire, singing "To the window, to the wall…", Rick got up to chant along, accompanied with dance moves that had Kate chucking a pillow at him from the couch and laughing so hard that her sides began to burn and her cheeks started to hurt.

"Stop! St…haha God please sto-stop it!" she tried to press out and wiped at her teary eyes. Rick did stop then, but only to tackle her back onto the couch and press wet smacking kisses to every inch of her face.

"Rick!" Kate laughed and captured his lips with her own to get him to stop. They broke away out of breath and with rosy cheeks, each of them for several and different reasons.

They smiled at each other and Kate was once more grateful for the joy that this man brought to her life. He started to kiss her cheeks and neck again, but this time sweet and loving instead of wildly enthusiastic. He wasn't so much arousing as reassuring her, enjoying simply being with her, being able to do this as he pleased without fearing for his life or the wellbeing of his ear.

She sighed and snuggled deeper into his body, stretched out beneath him on the couch, his warmth seeping into her until she felt toasty and endlessly happy. When his random path across her skin brought him back to her mouth, she kissed him thoroughly and then turned in his grasp so that he was spooning her and she could face the TV again. Betty White was making fun of Sandra Bullock's lack of cleavage.

Just as the credits started rolling down the screen, a soft beep from Kate's phone announced a new text message.

"What's the status on the bet? Hope you made him lose. Want details! :P" showed up on her screen when she sat up and checked it. Kate smiled at Lanie's unlimited curiosity.

Nibbling on her lower lip, she typed "Bet's over. Having best day of my life. Thank you! ;) Details later" and hit send. Then she shut off the phone, something she hadn't done in a very long time, and put it out of her sight. When she noticed that Rick was watching her, she just shrugged her shoulders and grabbed her glass of wine.

"To us" she said and raised it in his direction. He took his own from the coffee table.

"To us" he repeated and clinked their glasses together.

A/N: Ummm…this could actually be the end of this story. I haven't decided yet, but this seems like a good place to stop.

If this is indeed the last chapter, I want to thank you all for being the greatest readers an author could ever ask for! The Castle fandom is such an awesome, kind, fun and supportive group of people from all over the world and each and every one of you guys contributes to that wonderful experience! Thank you for reading, writing, reviewing, making gifs and manips, freaking out together over spoilers, bloopers, deleted scenes, sneak peaks, Stanathan, For Lovers Only and whatnot. You are awesome, all of you.

I'm alwaystoujourssiempre on tumblr and MelBerlin on twitter, feel free to fangirl with me if you want to!

The Ignition sequel I have been promising since May will be called "Crossroads" and will be posted very, very soon. I know it's been a while but I would love to hear from some of you again ;)

Much love from Berlin,

Lina