I've always wondered how people wrote things that were only allowed to be an exact amount of words from the beginning. I never thought I'd be able to get something down to exactly 500. So I tried, and I have. This is exactly 500 words, and I'm quite proud of myself.

I wrote this a while ago but wasn't sure if I liked it enough to post it. I've decided that I do, and so I am. And for anyone waiting on an update for Kamikaze, I just have some last minute editing to do. You'll most likely get it tomorrow, it depends on if I can sneak away from the family or not. So, my dear readers, go forth and read. Oh, and if you live in America, happy Thanksgiving!

Disclaimer: In my dreams. But seriously, I don't own Castle.

In life there are lines that are not to be crossed. Right and wrong, guilty and innocent, or in this case partners and so much more than that. Typically these lines are definite, drawn in stark black and white.

But sometimes they're blurred, smudged to the point where there are grey areas. A kind of limbo where it's hard to determine which way is up but even harder to determine where exactly that line was drawn in the first place.

Here, in these grey areas in between two definite sides, is where your desires get confused with the rational voice in your head. Heart rates quickening because the other is just so damn close, shared smiles that are so much more than just a friendly greeting. An ephemeral brush of hands that rest side-by-side, not quite close enough to be pressed together but not quite far enough so that accidental touches don't occur. Only they're not accidents, they're deliberate in the most innocent way. That's what lands you in limbo, that's what blurs the line in the first place.

But, the question is, how do you un-blur it? How do these two people undo the damage their hearts have done to their world of clear choices and values? The answer is clear, they have to make a choice.

Trouble is, the answer, however clear it may be, is not simple. Choices are hard to make when conflicting feelings and thoughts are being thrown at you all the time. Within the chaos it's hard to make the decision you feel is right. And even if they do succeed in redrawing the boundaries and retreating to their own sides, how long will it take before the same line is once again blurry and uncertain?

Neither of them is standing on firm ground. The steps they take are cautious, testing to see if the ground below them will hold as they trudge forward. For the most part, that is. Sometimes one of them will get brave, bolting forward at full speed. And either the ground will hold or it'll collapse beneath their feet.

Those who've thrown around the words fate and destiny. The people who've played with the phrase "meant to be." They never knew how right they really were.

The lines drawn by the universe are definite and respected. But there are some that are meant to be crossed in the first place. They are purposely blurred, a hint to the people they're keeping apart. These people, the man and woman who blur their own line daily, their line has always been meant to be disregarded. It was never a matter of if they'd blur the line but what they'd do once it was blurred. This is their test, their way of reaching the other. Through a constant push and pull, a capricious battle where each side bursts forward like a lightening strike and then retreats just as fast.

For them, it has never been a question of if but of when.

Review? Thanksgiving present? No special occasion present? I do love presents.