deliver us from evil

At Chase’s joke, Janie rolled her eyes, though a wide smile still managed to make its way onto her face. “Boo,” she heckled, picking up a noodle and flicking it at him, laughing as she did so.”I should try to come over more often, though. It gets lonely at my place sometimes.”

Trying to dodge the noodle and failing, it hit Chase’s shoulder and flopped to the floor ---- which caused an excited stir from the dogs, all trying to get at it at once. Letting out a chuckle at the sudden uproar, he shook his head before looking back up to Janie. “Now look what you’ve done, you stirred up these beasts.” Reaching over to the carton of noodles, he plucked a few out with his fingers before tossing them in Janie’s direction, which resulted in his pack scurring over to her for the apparent flying food.

Sitting that the table, across from Chase, Janie picked up various containers one by one, putting a little bit of the food from each on her plate. At the man’s suggestion, she smiled and took one of the egg rolls, immediately taking a bite out of it. “There are good,” she mumbled with a full mouth, nodding her head. The blonde took another one and set both of them down on her plate before picking up her chopsticks are carefully picking up some noodles and popping them into her mouth. “I miss havin’ dinner with you,” she said, swallowing her food. 

Smiling at her approval, Chase brought the container back and put one on his plate, along with some lo mein. As reclusive as he could be, he really did love the company of others, especially Janie. “You should stop by more often, I have it every night,” he joked, picking up his chopsticks to gather a bundle of noodles.

“You got them gifts?” Chase smiled. Nani always had a way of bringing light into his life, and the simple, kind gesture of her bringing goodies for his pack lifted his spirits. “You don’t have to apologize, I’ve been unreachable for a while...” he admitted, his smile dying down a bit. “I should have reached out--” he stopped, wondering if it was even his place to reach out in the first place, especially after what had happened on Halloween. Crouching down to pick up the box, he rose with a question -- a hint of hopefulness in his voice. “Do you want to come in? I was about to make some coffee...”

Nani stood out front of Chase’s door, her teeth pulling at her bottom lip as stared at it. She had considered just leaving the box filled with miscellaneous packages–one for Chase and the rest for his dogs–on his front porch and leaving. She hadn’t really seen him since that night and the fact that they’d barely spoken through text or phone calls hurt her even more so. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath–her hand coming up and rapping on the door, in time with her exhale.

“Thank you -- all of them are, really.” Chase offered a quick smile to his opposite, his fingers snapping together softly in order to get the dog’s attention. When Jasper complied and quickly made his way to his side, the exorcist glanced back up to Aaron in silence.

“Alright,” Janie called back, making her way past the dogs and joining Chase in the kitchen. She looked at him, a wide grin immediately forming on her features. “So, I made it into school,” she announced as if she hadn’t told him earlier over text. “Isn’t that great?”

Greeting Janie with a smile, Chase rounded the table with arms open before he took her into a tight hug. “You have no idea how proud I am,” he replied, loosening his grip only to mess with her hair a bit before pulling away. He was in a particularly good mood, and Janie’s news only boosted the feeling. “This is the start of something great for you, I can tell,” he continued, moving back around the table to fetch his wallet from the other end. 

It was difficult to keep the smile from her face at Chase’s response. It was amazing how genuine he seemed and Nani couldn’t help but feel slightly comforted. He had always seemed passionate about the work he did–even though she had only thought he worked for the church–it was something that had drawn her to him. Sure she still had her worries–exorcism was a scary thing to her, but something inside her quieted and new faith replaced it. Moving up, her weight on the table, her fingers traced his jawline–and without any warning, she kissed him. 

The smile that graced Nani’s expression put Chase at ease, his uncertainty slowly but surely washing away. Eyes following her as she moved up, what followed had taken him by surprise. He had collected a fair amount of reactions from others when he told them the truth, but this... was a first. With her sweet lips upon his, the exorcist moved his hands up her arms to her shoulders, moving into the gesture for a brief moment before breaking the kiss, dark green hues searched hers curiously, though no words were spoken. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure what to say, or if anything needed to be said for that matter.

Chase was in the kitchen, eyes set down to an article he’d been meaning to read that his father had sent him through the mail about a week ago -- regarding the successful exorcism of an elderly woman named Agata Katsaros. He’d been so engulfed in the story that he lost track of time, and when he heard Janie calling from the living room his gaze popped up from the newspaper clipping and he made his was to stand shortly thereafter. “I’m in here,” he called out, sliding most of the papers on the table into a folder.