Prompt by ignacio2012.
Disclaimer: Castle belongs to ABC.
The final prompt for this series, Lovers, refused to be pared down to 100 words, so this will be the final chapter. Look for "Lovers" as a separate story.
Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great. — Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
Extenuating Circumstances
By the time Josh comes back from Africa, she's decided that she's not going to tell him about kissing Castle. What would be the point? It was something that had to be done, and it's not as though it fundamentally changed anything.
When Josh comes to her apartment later that night, he pulls her into his arms and holds her tightly to him. She had halfway hoped for his touch to burn away her memories of Castle's, but the spark she felt on seeing him is short-lived. He bends his head down to hers, and his lips taste like ashes.