We'll Get There {AntiAverage} (ABANDONED)

17: JBM

744 words

I was surprised to see Chase awake when I stepped into the kitchen; I was known as quite an early riser in the house, and Chase was very much the opposite. And judging by the bowls and ingredients lining the counter, he'd been up for a while. The thought of alternate universes crossed my mind.

"What're you doin'?", I asked, thankful that the coffee pot was already full of fresh caffeine. I reached into the cabinet and retrieved a mug, watching Chase try to scrape something off of his fingers. I chuckled, grabbing a napkin and passing it on.

"Uh... trying to do that whole 'birthday' thing. It's the 10th.", he wiped what I was assuming was batter off of his hand.

My grin fell. "Right. Anti's birthday. I totally forgot about that."

"Yeah, well, I said I'd do something.", he seemed kind of distant, like the conversation was going on in the back of his head. It would explain the mess; Chase might be clumsy, but he usually wasn't this bad. He was preoccupied.

"What's on your mind? You look like you're six counties over.", I inquired, leaning against the counter.

Chase had the nerve to look surprised. "What? N- uh, nothing, dude. Just tired.", he was a terrible liar, but I decided not to call him out on it.

"Sure. You must've gotten, what... four hours of sleep, with your schedule?"

"No, actually. Kind of gotten into a better routine since he's gotten back.", he didn't need to say a name for me to know who he was talking about, Anti always seemed to be on his mind.

I hummed in the positive, which was semi-muffled by the sip of coffee I drank. There was a pause, as Chase dramatically whisked the batter. A bit spilled over the lip of the bowl and onto the counter, and two of the drops ricocheted into his shirt.

"Right... Chase, can I ask you something?", I said, only once my mug was empty. I set it in the sink as he started to pour the batter into a cake pan.

"Sure thing bro, what's up?"

"What the hell's going on between you and Anti?"

I stifled a snort when the bowl nearly slipped out of his hands. He turned wide eyes to me, setting the dish back down and unknowingly allowing more batter to drip down the edge onto the counter. "What- what do you mean?"

"I mean you two've looked at each other like puppies for ages. I mean, before this year.", I crossed my arms as I said it, looking at him with a Completely Over it Big-Brother Face™️ .

Chase seemed to simply bluescreen, face steadily reddening as he struggled for a response. "There's not- I mean, we-"

"So... pining, then?", I supplied, pulling one arm out of the cross to motion with. His face was fading from red to white, and he was holding onto the counter for support. There was a pause, during which I raised my eyebrows steadily higher in wait.

"Y...eah, I guess.", he admitted, eyes glued to the floor. I suddenly realized that this wasn't just me getting him to admit he liked someone. This was me pulling him out of the closet and into a vulnerable position.

The abrupt awareness made me feel incredibly guilty, and I quickly dropped the teasing atmosphere.

"Hey, I didn't mean to... I guess this is kind of big for you. I didn't think about it like that. Look I-", I took a breath, attempting to quickly sort my thoughts into words.

"I've known you liked him for a while. So... if you're worried about that, don't be. Hell, I'll get you a flag if you want. And I'm... it's no secret I'm not Anti's biggest fan. But I do want you to be happy. And if he does that, then... I guess I'm not going to give you shit for it."

Chase looked up once again, tension leaving his body as he let out a soft, relieved laugh. "That... means a lot, dude. Thank you."

"Yeah.", I nodded stiffly. "Yeah. I, uh...", I covered my mouth with a fist as I cleared my throat, "I guess I'll get going now. You know, crime doesn't sleep and all that." I pushed myself off of the counter and started towards the door.

I heard Chase say something along the lines of 'Right', or 'Sure', but I didn't really pay attention.

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long. I'm currently hyperfixating really bad on Supernatural so it's kind of difficult to write for another fandom- but I swear I'll try to get another chapter out soon.