Chapter Text
Opening the door, you help Chase over to the couch. Most of the furniture came with the house and was a little worn, but in a way that was comfortable. The cottage itself was in good shape. It was a cosy one floor home with one bedroom which you hoped wouldn’t be an issue. You were more than willing to sleep on the couch and let Chase take the bed.
After putting a kettle on the stove to heat water to make some tea you went and collected some healing crystals and a candle from your bedroom.
“Here, hold this,” you instruct Chase, giving him a piece of abalone, which was not only known for healing but also had calming and soothing properties.
You then lit the candle, in the middle of your coffee table in front of Chase. Around the candle you placed pieces of angelite, rutilated quartz, epidote, selenite and serpentine. After they were all positioned you began a quick incantation that would help Chase regain a bit of strength and health, as well as hopefully clear his mind a bit.
Chase watched wearily but didn’t question it.
After you were done you left him to soak in the effects of the spell as the candle burned and went to make the tea. For Chase, you added ingredients that would increase his healing abilities and for yourself, you added herbs that would calm you but not make you sleepy.
When you came back Chase had a soft, sad smile on his face.
You put the tea in front of him.
“Thank you,” Chase said.
“It’s what I’m here for,” you shrug, not sure what to say. A part of you wants Chase to hold you in his arms and kiss you, but you know you need to wait. Everything that happened left you with a lot of emotional scars and you both needed to work through what had happened.
“You’ve gotten a lot better at this,” Chase comments, nodding towards the still-burning candle and the crystals surrounding it.
“I had a lot of time to practise.”
There’s a pause. An awkward and almost unbearable silence.
Chase itches at the stubble on his face, clearly annoyed at it.
“I have a razor you can use,” you tell him.
“I’m okay,” Chase says and you notice that his hands have a shake to them.
“I can do it for you,” you offer. It feels like a good way to begin getting close again.
“Really?” Chase seems bewildered that you were willing to help him.
“Sure, can even give you a haircut if you want.”
“If your sure,” Chase continues to try and push you away.
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t. You can even have a shower, in fact, I’d recommend it,” you smile coyly.
“Oh ha-ha,” Chase retorts sarcastically.
You both finish up your teas and then make the way to the bathroom. It’s small but you both fit in there comfortably.
Chase sits on the toilet and you carefully get to shaving his face. The silence that fills the room this time is comfortable and you step back to admire your work when you’re finished. Without the beard he almost looks like the Chase you knew. Just one more step.
“Okay so I’m not a hairdresser so if this looks bad I’m sorry in advance,” you say as you get a pair of scissors.
“Eh, I’m pretty sure I deserve more than a bad haircut.”
You want to say that he doesn’t because, in reality, you know everything bad he did was caused by his powers and you can see that he is starting to come back to himself and is showing remorse. However, you don’t want him to think that everything is just magically forgiven and forgotten just because it was only his powers. You were to hurt for instant forgiveness.
Instead of replying you concentrate on trying to get his hair even. While Chase looks good with longer hair and maybe he would grow it out again in the future, you wanted to see him as you remembered him and thought it would do some good for him too. He had missed out on almost four years of his life and looking so different was sure to be a shock. Chase had ignored looking in any mirrors around your house.
When you finished cutting Chase’s hair it was still a little longer than it had been before. You didn’t want to risk messing up and continuously trying to fix things until he ended up bald. Still, he looked more like he did before Caleb sent him to the in-between, though he could use some good meals, and a shower.
“I’ll um, I’ll leave you to shower. I should have some clothes you’ll fit into.”
You kept clothes around in case people who needed healing that you were treating in your home would be around for more than a day.
You pulled out a large blue t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants and left them outside the bathroom on a small table nearby. Then you went and started to make some food. You had forgotten that you needed to go shopping, too caught up in the fact that you felt ready to get Chase back, but you had enough to make some sandwiches.
After making them you text the boys to let them know that Chase has calmed down and you’re going to make sure he eats and then gets some sleep.
Reid XD: Awe, you’re like a little housewife!
Tyler :): STFU, anyway, let us know when he’s asleep. We’ll go to Caleb’s house when he is. If anything happens just let us know and we’ll be there.
You let them know that you’ll do as they instructed and waited for Chase. The sound of the shower had stopped minutes ago, so you didn’t think he would take long.
Ten more minutes and you were starting to get worried.
You made your way to the bathroom, noticing that the clothes you’d left had been taken.
“Chase?” you say as you knock on the door.
When there’s no reply you try to open the door and are glad to find it isn’t locked, though you fear what may be on the other side.
It’s a heartbreaking scene, seeing Chase looking at himself in the mirror, tears running down his cheeks as he sobs silently. His hands grip the sink so hard you fear it may break.
Acting on instincts you place your hands-on Chase, making him loosen his grip. Then you pull him away from the mirror, sitting him on the floor.
You let him cry while you comfort him, rubbing his back and telling him things are going to be okay, something you’re starting to believe.
It takes a while for Chase to calm down but once he has he tries to apologise for his breakdown.
“Shh, it’s okay. This is a lot to deal with,” you reassure him, helping him up off of the floor.
“Come on, let’s get some food and then you should probably sleep.”
Chase yawned as he nodded, seemingly realising just how tired he was.
He practically inhaled two sandwiches and would have most likely gone for a third if he wasn’t starting to drift off.
You lead him to your bedroom, and when he tries to protest and tell you he can sleep on the couch you don’t even let him try and argue. It was highly possible that Chase believed he didn’t deserve comfort and kindness so he needed to teach him that he did.
It didn’t take long for him to settle and when he fell asleep, he finally, for the first time since you had brought him back from the in-between, he looked content.
You message the boys to let them know that Chase was asleep before cleaning up the plates and then laying down on the couch. Bringing Chase back had taken a lot of energy, and then you had to help heal him. While you did your best to stay awake in case Chase woke up and needed something you couldn’t keep yourself from drifting off.
When you wake up you hear noise from the kitchen. At first your scared, but then Chase walks in holding a glass of water and you’re filled with relief. The previous day had almost felt like a dream.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Chase asks, guilt flooding his tone.
“Nah, it’s fine,” you say as you slowly sit up, yawning.
After going to the bathroom to brush your teeth and have a shower you make breakfast. You really needed to go shopping but you didn’t want to leave Chase on his own and it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to re-introduce him to society yet, especially since you needed to come up with a convincing alibi as to why he had disappeared after the fire.
“W-would you be okay if I invited some people over?” you asked, thinking that you could ask the boys to pick up some food before they came over. It would be a good way to start to introduce Chase back into interacting with people and gave them a chance to talk about what happened and if they forgave Chase maybe he would start to forgive himself.
“Caleb?” Chase questioned, a little bit of fear in his tone.
“And the rest of the boys.”
“Sure that will end well?”
While you weren’t completely convinced, you trusted that the boys wouldn’t try to pull any shit in front of you. Since their powers would now cause them to age they were also using them a lot more sparingly than in their teen years and with the dark nature you had uncovered they were reluctant to do anything that would be deemed ‘bad’ by moral standards.
“They may be a bit cold. I doubt they’ll instantly forgive you for everything that happened, but they know it wasn’t your fault.”
“Do you?”
The question caught you off guard, and while, yes, you did understand and even fought for the idea that it wasn’t Chase’s fault there was also the question of forgiveness. Even if it wasn’t his fault, you had still be hurt and it wasn’t like you could just pretend nothing had happened.
With all the time you had spent working on getting Chase back you hadn’t dealt with your emotions. Maybe getting lost in working of saving Chase and helping others was a way to suppress how you felt, but it was clear that was no longer an option.
“I know it wasn’t you, but I need time.”
Chase nodded, sucking his lips in as he tried to hide the fact that what you had said hurt. You couldn’t lie to him though.
“Invite them,” Chase said after a moment of silence.
You made a noise in confirmation and messaged the group chat to let them know of your plan, and also asked if they could go grocery shopping for you. They agreed though Pogue seemed a bit annoyed. At this point, you think it was less to do with the whole being put in hospital thing and more the fact that Chase ruined his bike. Even if he had built himself five new ones it was the principle of the matter, that had been his first bike.
While waiting for the boys you cleaned up a little, Chase helped where he could. You lit a few candles as well, hoping the nice smell of spiced apple would create a soothing atmosphere. After that, you busied yourself by making tea. Anything that could calm you down. Chase could tell that you were tense so he left you to get on. He needed to collect himself as well.
When the boys arrived you let them in, taking the groceries with a thanks.
Deciding it was better to let the boys and Chase try and get along on their own at first you excused yourself so you could put the shopping away and finishing making the teas, and coffee for Pogue when the water had finished boiling. You kept the kitchen door open so you could intervene if needed.
Even though it was cliché you knew what people meant when they said you could cut through the tension with a knife.
Chase was sat in one of your chairs, curled in on himself. Caleb was in another chair sat across from him, and Pogue was sat on the arm of the sofa, on foot on the ground as if he was ready to strike or run if it was needed. Reid and Tyler were sat close on the couch. Tyler almost looked lost, and while Reid was better at hiding his emotions the way he was bouncing his leg gave him away.
Tyler put his hand on Reid’s leg to try and ground Reid and still him. In response Reid took Tyler’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together.
“Damn, really wish I’d placed money on you guys getting together,” Chase broke the silence. The chuckle that he followed his words with was kind.
When he received no response, you were ready to butt in and try and move things along but then Reid spoke.
“I’d probably have taken you up on it.”
You shake your head, smiling at how oblivious Reid used to be; still is honestly.
“Same,” Pogue spoke up, not adding anything else.
“I think we all knew Tyler was head over heels, but nah, I would have bet Reid would never get his head out of his ass.”
“HEY!” Reid shot daggers at Caleb.
“We were all thinking it,” you stated as you re-entered the room with a tray of steaming mugs. Now that the conversation had started flowing you felt like it was time to join in. You took a seat next to Reid. The sofa was big enough for four people so you hoped Pogue would feel comfortable to settle down soon.
“Never thought you’d be with an English major,” Caleb shrugs.
“I’ve caught him reading for fun the other day,” Tyler adds with a cheeky grin.
Reid’s face is turning redder by the second.
“Stephen King’s a good writer, Cormac McCarthy fucking sucks though.”
“He’s shit. Mr “I don’t use most punctuation and call it a writing style”. Pretentious dick.” Tyler huffs.
You all know how much he hates that author.
“So glad I never made it his reading assignment,” Chase laughs but immediately you can feel that tension build again now that Chase has brought up what happened. Luckily, Reid jumps in before it starts to feel so awkward.
“Lucky prick, I bombed so hard on that essay.”
“I’m surprised you even did it,” Tyler replies.
“Well I’m an art student now so I can say I’m not good at academic stuff.”
“Isn’t there a girl in your class that’s also majoring in chemistry?” You recall Reid saying something about how he was pretty sure she was going to take over the world or something.
“Yeah but I’m pretty sure she’s evil. Like mad scientist evil.”
You all find yourselves laughing at that.
“I didn’t know you did art,” Chase comments after the laughter dies off.
“Wasn’t really vocal about it. But I’m an apprentice at a tattoo shop, six months now. Too bad this one didn’t wait,” Reid lightly punches Tyler in the shoulder.
“It wouldn’t have been a surprise if you’d done it,” Tyler counters.
Chase looks at them, clearly waiting for the story on what the tattoo was if they wanted to tell it.
“Sap got a tattoo of Reid’s soul mark, same place as Reid’s and everything,” Pogue explained while he ruffled Tyler’s hair. Pogue was still trying to act all tough but you could see his features soften.
“That’s cute. I’m glad things worked out for you,” Chase said earnestly, and you catch his gaze drift down to his own soul mark, the one that you had replicated on your hand. It’s then that you noticed that his mark has faded slightly and you guess that it must have been some side effect of being in the in-between.
“How’s Sarah?” Chase changes the topic and there’s a part of you that’s ready for all hell to break loose but you take a sip of tea to help maintain your composure.
“She’s good, really good,” Caleb says with a dopy smile on his face as he fiddles with the ring on his finger. The two had got engaged during their second year at Harvard. They weren’t planning on having the wedding any time soon. Sarah wanted to work on getting another degree and Caleb wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after college. They wanted to sort out their lives first and then worry about a wedding and all of that stuff. It was more of a promise that they would stay together, that they wanted that married life. The world couldn’t know or see their soul marks but they could show their bond by the rings they wore.
“I’m glad,” Chase begins, and you can see he’s trying to choose his words carefully. “I’m sorry that I caused her harm, and the whole fight. Everything, I-”.
“It wasn’t you. It might take a while for us to get over it but we know it wasn’t you,” Caleb cuts Chase off and the rest of the boys nod in agreement, even Pogue.
“And before you try and ask about Kate we broke up.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I know I was trying to break you guys up and-”.
Again Chase was cut off.
“Honestly, you were doing me a favour. The spider thing may have been a bit too far but that girl was a bitch,” Pogue grimaces at the memory of her as he slides down onto the couch next to Tyler.
“I heard she got kicked out of college for trying to get with her professor. Thought the old dude was rich and would keel over soon and she’d be left the money,” Reid scoffs.
You shake your head. There were times where you loved Kate as a friend, but most of the time she was difficult to continue getting along with, to say the least. Most of the time you just wanted to shake her and tell her that she was the one causing her own problems.
“Even so, I’m sorry for hurting you all. I know it wasn’t me, but it still kind of was. Like, it was like I was trapped, unable to do anything but watch what my body was doing.” Chase explained and you couldn’t imagine what that must be like. The closest you could relate was when you were learning how to control your powers and would sometimes see people’s futures by accident. It felt like you were violating their privacy but at least you were able to gain control of your powers and it wasn’t like you knew for certain that was what was going to happen.
“I get that,” Reid said, his voice quiet as if he was speaking to himself.
“Sometimes when I would get angry and use my powers, I didn’t want to be using them,” Reid went on.
While it was sad that their powers could lead to such things seeing Reid trying to relate and comfort Chase made your heart swell. You had always thought they would get along best and you just hoped the others did too. They were your family and while you didn’t know where you and Chase were yet, or what you would be, you still loved him, and so you wanted them to all be able to get along.
After a little more of a discussion about powers, the conversation switched to lighter subjects. Laughter was filling your home and stories were being shared, mainly by yourself and the boys but Chase was happy to listen.
When the guys had to leave, they promised to visit again soon. Now they knew that Chase was safe to be around they could go back to their lives and not worry too much about you, but Caleb did say that if anything happens they would be there as soon as possible, though he also was adamant about the fact that he didn’t think anything bad was going to occur.
You hugged them all goodbye and Chase was at the door with you as you wished them goodbyes. It was nice, knowing that they could all get along.
As Caleb said, it would take some time but this was a good start.
Thought now the boys were gone you were left alone with Chase again, and while you knew the two of you needed to talk, neither of you were willing to be the one to strike up that conversation first. Instead, you both buried your heads in the sand and continued on in a weird sort of limbo.
The limbo period lasts for almost two weeks. You both seem to either avoid each other as much as possible or dance around different subjects whenever you have to spend time together, which is often considering you were sharing a living space.
Chase was staying in the spare bedroom. A small room with a single bed and a few supplies that you often needed when healing witches who needed to stay with you for some time.
Luckily you had only had a couple of visitors and none of them had any serious ailments, just minor wounds like burns from spells gone wrong. Chase would hide away from visitors as much as he could but when they did notice that there was another presence in your home you told them that he was just another one of your patients. While you and Chase both knew that he needed some kind of cover story to explain his resurgence so he could re-enter the world, it was just another topic that was danced around and never spoken about.
However, you could only ignore the much-needed conversations for so long.
Nightmares were something you constantly suffered from. They weren’t always about Chase, but more often than not they were. Sometimes he would win against Caleb and leave bloodshed as he continued to take the lives of other witches and steal their powers. There were times where your dream self would join him, the worst of those particular dreams being the times you would watch the light drain out of Reid’s eyes after you had tricked him into trusting you.
Other times you dreamt of the spiders, crawling all over you, biting you, poisoning you and eating you alive.
You dreamt of your friends dying because of Chase’s powers because you hadn’t done enough to stop him and instead withheld information.
Sometimes you tried to go as long as you could without sleeping because you couldn’t face what happened in your dreams.
Tonight, you dreamt of something that had been your deepest fear ever since Chase and Caleb’s fight. Something that had been a possibility for so long and wasn’t something that you needed to worry about now.
You were back at the barn, everything was set up for you to bring Chase back, but after casting the spell nothing happened. Chase was gone, and you lost all hope of getting him back. Was your love not strong enough? Was he too far gone to bring back? What if he had died in there? There were so many horrible monsters trapped in the in-between and you didn’t know what it was like there.
With a start, you woke, covered in sweat and shaking with fear. While you knew that Chase was only a room away from you and had been saved you felt a compulsion to check. You needed to make sure that you hadn’t just imagined all of this due to some kind of mental breakdown.
When you opened your door, Chase was already there. He was breathing heavily and looked startled. Before you could ask what was wrong his arms were wrapped around you.
“You’re safe,” he whispered mirroring the same thought that you had been having.
You hugged him back, feeling comfort in knowing that he was with you; that he was okay.
Leading him to sit down on your bed you wait to see if he explains what has him so scared. You guessed he had also been suffering from nightmares.
“I-I dreamt that, that my powers took control. And, and I k-killed you.”
You take Chase’s hand in yours and tell him about your nightmare.
From there you make the decision to start sleeping in the same bed, just so that when those kinds of nightmares occur you can be sure that the other is still there and that things are okay now.
It’s still a bit awkward given that you’re both unsure of where you both are in terms of your relationship but it opens the doors a little for you to both talk about some of the things that happened but it really wasn’t much.
It wasn’t until Chase woke you from a particularly traumatic nightmare that you both realised that you needed to stop ignoring the reality of what had happened and face everything.
You had woken to Chase shaking you, calling your name and for you to wake up. When you first saw him you felt a sense of fear but you weren’t really sure why. Whatever you had been dreaming about hadn’t stuck in your memory after you woke up.
“You were talking in your sleep,” Chase explains.
There’s a sick feeling in your stomach as if you had exposed something that you hadn’t wanted anyone to know. Something that maybe you didn’t even know.
“The night before the dance, that, that wasn’t me talking. I really did, really do love you. I wasn’t using you, I never wanted to hurt, well anyone, but especially not you.”
That night was still so vivid in your head. It’s weird but the thing that hurt most was the fact that Chase wasn’t even really there. His powers didn’t even think you were important enough to tell in person, instead, using magic to create some kind of projection or clone to talk to you.
“I know,” you begin because of course you do. You had always known it wasn’t really Chase talking, but that didn’t mean you didn’t sometimes wonder if some of those thoughts did mirror his own.
“It just, it hurt a lot. Everything, it fucked me up. I still need time. I don’t think I’ll get over it completely but, I trust you, I love you. But I need more time, we need more time. Things are different now; we need to adjust.”
Chase nods. He understands that everything can’t just go back to how it was before his powers really started to take control.
That night was difficult, but it got the ball rolling and you both began to open up about your trauma and how you both really felt about everything that had happened instead of avoiding everything. Now that everything was out on the table it felt like a weight had lifted and you could both start moving forward with your lives, in fact, you had already started making some plans.
Reintroducing Chase to the world was tough. Not just because he needed a convincing cover story but because he still needed to process the trauma he went through and while there were a few which therapists, none of them would truly understand his powers, nor did he feel comfortable talking to anyone but you and occasionally Reid about what had happened and how he was coping.
You were also struggling, but with time things were getting better. Now that you were both being honest with each other it felt like the healing process could really begin.
Coming up with a cover story was hard but, in the end, Chase figured that since so many people in his life had died, he could say that he ran away because he thought he was some kind of bad omen and would end up hurting those he cared about. It wouldn’t seem odd that someone born in Salem would have superstitious tenderness and with everything he had been through, that people knew about without the magical elements, it would make sense that he would be scared and would blame himself, especially with Kate and Pogue ending up in the hospital.
He said that he had lived with an uncle of his adopted family out of state, an old sickly man who had recently passed away. No one bothered to look into it and the police took him off the missing person list and he was no longer presumed to be dead.
Chase would sometimes help you when you were heeling others, mainly just bringing things to you. His powers were slowly returning, which you both knew because sometimes he would accidentally use them, not having control over it. He was afraid of using them. He knew that they would never be like they were before, but he was still afraid that the darkness could somehow come back and take control of him again. You told him that you hadn’t used your seeing powers since the night he had been sent to the in-between so you understood.
It turned out that Chase was really good with people. Even when your patients were in the foulest of moods, he somehow managed to put a smile on their face. That did Chase a lot of good too, making him feel better in himself; helping him realise that he wasn’t the monster he still sometimes believed himself to be. It would take a while for him to fully believe that he was a good person, but he was starting to see it.
The first time Chase used his powers on purpose it was to help you.
You had decided it was about time to go back to Margaret’s little café and ask for a job. With everything going on you had pushed that idea to the back of your mind for now and now you felt guilty because you hadn’t seen her since Chase’s arrival.
To help your case as you asked for forgiveness and work you decided to back her a cake. She loved a sweet treat and baked everything she sold. Margaret would always joke that baking was its own form of magic. She had taught you how to make delicious treats and while you were nowhere near as talented as her you had gotten pretty damn good at it if you did say so yourself.
Chase was also in agreement. He’d tried to help you bake once, and even tried once on his own but he was a disaster in the kitchen. You were surprised he didn’t burn toast. Actually, he had a few times.
As you were getting the cake out of the oven you turned to put it on the cooling rake but tripped over your own feet and without thinking you had dropped the cake while trying to right yourself. Chase saw what was happening and his eyes got that orange glow; they don’t blackout anymore, and the cake stopped in mid-air and you picked it up and put it on the cooling rake.
“Thank you,” you smile at Chase as he walks into the kitchen.
“I- uh, no problem,” he scratches the back of his head with a bashful look on his face.
You don’t push for him to talk about the fact that he used his powers and he doesn’t seem to want to go into it, but Chase doesn’t seem freaked out by it. In fact, he almost seems glad about the fact that he used his powers for something good and to help you instead of hurting you. It was like a wake-up call that he wasn’t evil and he didn’t have to be.
“Come on, even you can’t mess up decorating,” you joke, handing him a bowl of homemade vanilla buttercream.
“You have way too much faith in me,” Chase retorted while scraping some of the buttercream off of the side of the bowl to have a taste. He made an obscene sound as he did so and you did him lightly with a pack of chocolate chips.
The cake looked a little bit messy in the end. There were crumbs in the buttercream and there was more in some places than others. Chase had tried to make some fondant flowers; they looked a bit wonky but they were cute. The cake was perfect in its imperfection and you had a feeling Margaret would love it just as much as you did.
You convince Chase to come with you to see Margaret. He tries to protest, thinking that she wouldn’t want to see him after everything he’s done. She had always been so kind to him and while he didn’t do anything to hurt her directly, he figured she would still be disappointed in him.
“Don’t be silly Chase, she loves you. She even helped me get you back.”
Chase is a bit taken aback, but then you see the realisation on his face and imagine that must have been what you looked like when you found out that Margaret was a hedge witch. If Chase’s powers never picked up on it, she really was good at hiding that fact.
Convincing Chase was easier after that, though you could tell he was still nervous so you told him to drive, that way he had something else to focus on.
You got to the shop a bit after it had opened at ten in the morning. There were a couple of costumers already sat with hot drinks and one of Margaret’s amazing treats. They were regulars and greeted you when they noticed you had walked in.
The café smelt of freshly baked goods and you had forgotten just how calming the atmosphere was. Chase’s worried expression also seemed to fade away. This place had a lot of meaning for the both of you and you were glad he had introduced you to it.
Margaret wasn’t at the counter, probably off getting something out of the oven and while you could have waited you just couldn’t so you decided to be a bit cheeky, walking around the counter to enter the kitchen with Chase trailing behind you holding the cake.
“Hey Margaret,” you call out as you enter the room, seeing her bend over, looking through the glass of the oven.
“Well there’s a voice I haven’t heard in a-,” she cuts herself off when she turns around and sees Chase, “while,” she finished in a whisper as tears fill her eyes.
“Sorry, I meant to visit sooner,” you apologise but she hushes you before rushing over to give Chase a massive hug. He holds the cake out of the way and you take it from him so he can wrap both arms around her.
“I missed you my boy,” Margaret tells him and you can tell he feels the same. Margaret was probably the closest he’d ever had to a mother figure since his birth mother who he could barely remember.
“I’m sorry.”
“None of that dear. It’s all in the past,” Margaret lets Chase go and wipes her tears away.
“I knew you’d get him back,” she gives you a watery smile, and you find yourself wiping your eyes too.
“So, other than bringing Chase here so I can see him again I’m sensing you have another reason for coming here. And I’m not talking about the cake.”
Margaret was always good at reading you and you knew she wasn’t accusing you of having an ulterior motive for visiting her, in fact, she probably knew what you were going to ask.
“Well, I was wondering if I could have my old job back.”
“Not up for exploring any more of the world?” She teases.
“I think I’ve had my fill for a while. My home is here,” you say and while you do mean in Ipswich, in your heart you also mean with Chase.
“Of course you can have your job back, I never fired you did I? Anyway, this place is as much yours as it is mine. Yours too Chase, but you’ll have to pull your weight.”
You stare at Margaret, unsure of what she was saying. She takes in your confused expression and lets out a soft laugh.
“I’m not planning on kicking the bucket yet, but I love this shop and need to know it will still be here after I’m gone.”
“Margaret,” tears fill your eyes again as you realise what she’s saying.
“I’m leaving this shop to you, both of you,” her eyes move from you to Chase, “I know how much it means to you and I trust you both. Plus it looks like you can already make a good cake,” she smiles at the cake on the table. You knew she’d love it.
“Oh Margaret,” you hug her in thanks. This place really did mean a lot to you and while you were scared of the possibility of running the café, you were also excited. However, it wasn’t just your decision.
You look over at Chase, he’s stunned but when his eyes meet yours, he nods in approval.
“Yeah well, like I said, I ain’t quitting just yet. I’m still ya boss. So, my first order is that the two of you tell me what you’d like to drink and go out in the garden. Enjoy yourselves.”
Both of you know there’s no point disagreeing with Margaret but you do tell her that you’ll make your own drinks. She would have most likely protested if it weren’t for a customer walking in at that moment.
You take your drinks out to the garden. It’s a lovely day, hot enough but there’s a nice breeze so you don’t overheat.
There’s no one else in the garden but you still find yourself walking past benches and tables until you’re sat at the same place you sat on your first date with Chase. He sits across from you and it just feels right.
The two of you talk freely, joking about working at the café, owning it one day. Chase is convinced he’s going to accidentally burn it down and you ban him from trying to bake before you’ve taught him everything you know, and even then he may still not be allowed to.
It’s been a while since you’ve felt like this. While things with Chase had been better you hadn’t felt this kind of serenity in a long time.
You’re looking around the garden as the conversation lulls, hoping that with your powers you’ll be able to keep it as beautiful as Margaret does when you feel Chase’s hand over yours and you look at him.
“I love you,” he’s got a massive smile on his face but there’s an underlying fear. Maybe this is too soon. What if you don’t feel the same way?
“I love you too,” you smile back, knowing it’s true. It’s always been true. Even through the darkest of times there hasn’t been a point where you didn’t love Chase Collins.
Whoever made the first move you weren’t sure, but you both leaned in and kissed each other. It was short and sweet with a promise of many more in the future. In fact, you went to lean in again but then see something fall into Chase’s coffee causing a small splash.
He grimaces as he pulls out a small branch that had fallen. It feels you with a weird sense of déjà vu.
“Well, guess I won’t be drinking that anymore.”
You giggle and realise that this happened the first time you were here, but that time Chase used his powers to make the branch disappear.
It’s almost as if the universe is giving you a sign that things were going to be okay. Everything was different now, for the better. You and Chase had a second chance.
Things still weren’t perfect, but much like the cake, you figured that you and Chase were perfect in your imperfections. Nothing worth fighting for was ever easy, and you had never stopped fighting for Chase no matter how hard things got.
Everything was going to be okay in the end, and you didn’t need to use your powers to know that.