Chapter Text
More than three months had passed since the source had been divided into three and separated to the far corners of the world, hidden from one another and even from themselves. More than three months that Macy had gotten to enjoy the feeling of finally being herself again. More than three months since Galvin’s sacrifice, the guilt of which still ate at her whenever she was alone, especially at night when she could remember the feel of his touch or the smell of his skin. And more than three months since Harry had suggested that they both simply pretend it had never happened.
It. But what was ‘it,’ exactly?
Macy still wanted to kick herself in the butt for ever having revealed to him that she could read his mind in that intimate moment. The source had been flowing through her though, hot and overpowering in her veins and under her skin, pulsing through her like white lightening. It had been brighter than the sun and pure intoxication. With the source beating inside of her she could have done anything. Been anything. For a little while she had been a goddess.
And oh, how that overconfident goddess had wanted to flaunt her might. That goddess had felt too high and mighty, too strong and powerful and better than . That goddess had been single minded, and she’d been annoyed at the strange new revelation that felt so foreign. She’d been furious that he would dare, he who had been a lover to the woman who had murdered her mother. He who hadn’t known about the blood brought into his bed, the blood on her hands from how many other Elders.
“...And we all love you.” Harry had said to her that day as they sat side by side on the bed, his small appeal to try and pull her back from the insanity she’d fast been falling into.
Then his thoughts betrayed him.
'And god help me, I do love you.' He’d added in his mind, almost surprised himself as it came with a charge of emotion.
Fear. Sadness. Confusion. Desire. Affection. Longing. Hope. Guilt.
Macy had never noticed it before, mostly because Charity had always been the biggest force around them when it came to Harry’s less familial affections, but as she thought back on some of their interactions together—when it was just her and Harry—she might have known there was something. A small spark. She thought he looked at her sometimes when she wasn’t paying attention, but whenever she’d turn to verify, he was already looking elsewhere. He’d been so very good at hiding his emotions. Hell, maybe he hadn’t even known himself really. He had seemed just as surprised as her, and beyond startled at her finding out.
“Let’s just pretend it never happened.” He had told her the next time she brought it up, that beautiful day at the cemetery when they could all revel in their victory and the peace that came with it.
But despite those words, she couldn’t pretend. Not now that she knew. Not now that she wasn’t sure how she herself felt. Not now that she wondered if he would have kept it a secret forever, a secret bricked up behind a wall of shame and respect. She had honestly never thought of him in that way before, but now that the thought was there, she couldn’t shake it. There had been some attraction on her part, he was handsome after all in his own way, but he had always been all business, and with everything else that had been going on, and then with Galvin...
“Ugh we’ve seriously got another meeting today,” Maggie moaned as her phone’s calendar notification went off. “I guess I have to tell Lucy we’ll do lunch tomorrow instead. Again.”
The three sisters sat at the kitchen table, coffees in hand, while Harry busied himself in the kitchen making breakfast for them all. Macy watched him at the stove, watched how he took such great care to make sure that what he made for them was just right. He leaned over and grabbed another egg, cracking it into the pan with one hand, his fingers careful and practiced, his care apparent in every movement.
“I’m sure she’ll survive her mid-day mojitos without you.” Mel snarked with wry smile before taking a sip of coffee.
“Not funny.” Maggie whined. “I’m literally the only person in the world that’ll have to rush for a third time. A third time! Do you even understand how humiliating that is?”
“You’ll be fine.” Mel said, waving away the concern. “You know exactly what to expect, and now that the source is safe and we’re the ones in charge, things will be under control without anyone having some ulterior motive. Mark my words, these meetings will be a thing of the past soon enough.”
“You three will do wonders for the magical community, I’m sure of it.” Harry chimed in from the stove, flashing them all a smile over his shoulder.
“Maybe we’ll finally get some peace and quiet for a change.” Macy said, hopeful.
“I could so do with some quiet around—”
The doorbell rang.
“—here.” Maggie finished with a sigh and an eye roll.
“I thought we scheduled the meeting for this afternoon?” Mel stated with a frown, checking the time.
“Did you schedule it our time, or Green Meadow time?” Harry asked.
“Err, our time?” Mel answered, glancing over to her sisters who only shrugged.
“Ah yes.” Harry said with a nod. “Time there is a bit different than our own. Did I not mention that before?”
“Maybe?” Maggie answered, clearly okay with confessing that she may or may have not been paying attention to his lessons on the magical world living unseen around them.
“You did not.” Macy corrected, the corner of her lip twitching at the sight of his panicked face. “But it’s fine. They’re here now. Just—maybe we’ll need some extra scones?”
“I’ll get the door.” Maggie volunteered.
Peace and quiet was not on the menu for the day.
Or the next.
Or the one after that.
In fact, being stand-ins for the Elders was quickly becoming more than the Charmed Ones had bargained for. Harry had their calendar filled to the brim with magical creatures and people from all over, each with their own set of grievances and each looking for guidance and assistance. He assured them that the Elders were never troubled so often and that it must be a phase, but the sisters got the distinct feeling that it wasn’t for lack of issues. No, they were certain that nobody went to the Elders unless the situation was life or death. It was hard enough for witches to trust them. Other beings? Forget it.
And Macy hadn’t even known so many species existed in the world! It was unbelievable. When they weren’t helping to maintain law and order, Harry had them sat at the table, studying endless amounts of fabled creatures, their rules, their expectations, their fears and wants and anything else he thought might be of use to them. He even started to teach them new languages, or at least some of the basics.
It kept them busy enough, and for a while Macy was glad for it. The work at home and at her lab kept her mind off other things, things that were far more complicated than destroying rogue demons harassing witches and humans, or disputes among Elves and Ogres, beings that Macy was still trying to wrap her head around in a more scientific way. How had they stayed hidden all this time? What was their physiology? Were there Elfish biologists she could talk to? Ogrish physicians?
As she sat at the small attic table across from Harry, Macy looked up at him from beneath her lashes, her head still mostly bowed over a book. His brows were pushed together, deep in thought, and she found her mind wandering away from land disputes and how the ancient tribes had originally formed and come to decide who owned what. She wondered instead how Harry had come to be romantically involved with Charity. It must have been when he had been Fiona’s Whitelighter. That made the most sense. Fiona had likely introduced them, or maybe they, like she and her own sisters, had lived together and kept the Whitelighter close at hand.
She tried to imagine how he’d first flirted with the Elder and decided that the woman must not have even been an Elder at that time. If it was a relationship forbidden by the Elders themselves, then she couldn’t imagine Harry taking that sort of risk. But maybe she didn’t know him half as well as she thought she did. How long had he known Charity before he kissed her? Or had she kissed him first? What brought them together in that way?
Macy considered that Harry was likely not the one to make the first move. He had far too much respect for the women in his charge to ever cross that sort of boundary without explicit indications that it was wanted. In fact—and she smiled at this thought—he probably tried to dissuade Charity from escalating things. Harry was, for the most part, the rule abiding sort, so she really couldn’t even see how any of it might have started. She had her hypothesis of course, but scientific method dictated that before she could form a theory, tests would have to be made.
Did she want something more with the Whitelighter? Macy decided that she actually might. They’d both been hurt in the past though, and Harry in particular now knew the dangers of dating a witch first hand. If ever he’d been okay with bending the rules on that matter, she doubted getting him to do so again would be easy, even with the Elders no longer in charge. Still, she needed to know if there could be something more between them.
She couldn’t just pretend it had never happened.