Chapter Text
"Wake up," Blue Sargent said.
When Cabeswater fell, Adam felt it in his entire being. Ronan felt it in his dreams, even when he was painfully awake. Blue felt it in her heart. But sadness, wistfulness, mourning for their special place, their dream-forest, and all of the memories they had cultivated there, was not what overcame them all. When Cabeswater fell, there was relief. There was the future, endless and shimmering and full of possibilities. And there was Gansey, on the ground in front of them, opening his eyes.
One twice-previously deceased Richard Campbell Gansey III opened his eyes on a new life for the second time. They stared at the blue sky above him, and when they came into focus, they saw Blue, and Henry, and Ronan and Adam standing above him, and everyone seemed to be smiling so wide that he had to smile himself.
Blue threw her arms around Gansey's neck, tackling him to the ground again. She was laughing, or crying, or sobbing - it was sort of a mix of all three. Henry Cheng was grinning widely. Ronan Lynch sat back, and his whole body sighed. He laughed, and the sound was pure, vibrant, throaty and joyful, and then Chainsaw joined in, and then Orphan Girl galloped around them and sang, "Kerah, kerah!" Adam Parrish closed his eyes and smiled, feeling the loss of Cabeswater in him, even when he knew it wasn't really gone - it still existed, in Gansey, in dreams, in all of their hearts and their memories and the unshakable bond they held between the four of them.
Ronan stood up, laughing some more, and the expression on his face was pure joy and enlightenment and he looked happier than Adam had ever seen him. Adam wanted to take a picture, so he could keep Ronan here forever, just like this, unadulterated happiness emanating from him.
They all laughed again, because Gansey was here, Gansey was alive, and the demon was gone.
The air was charged with electricity and possibility and at the same time, a softness and a lightness that brushed Adam's skin and made him feel hopeful for what felt like the first time in months.
Ronan sidled up to him, and without thinking, Adam let his fingers twine through Ronan's. Unaware of it himself, he had answered a question that had been weighing on Ronan's lips since their first kiss. Adam closed his eyes and rested his head on Ronan's shoulder with relief, a smile playing across his features. Ronan's hand in his own felt like the beginning of something.
"Noah," Gansey said suddenly, and everyone stopped and looked around as if they expected to see their long-dead friend standing beside them. But Noah Czerny was not there. They all felt his absence, suddenly and painfully, in a way that they hadn't before.
"It was him," Gansey continued, his voice reverent and full of wonder. "All this time . . ."
"What happened to him?" Ronan asked, and Blue closed her eyes.
"I think he's . . . passed on," she said. But she didn't sound sad. There was a small smile on her face, as if she were happy for him. "Finally. He's at peace."
They all sat there for a moment, weighing the absence of their friend in their hearts. But they had already mourned for Noah, months before, and now, there was simply peace in all of them. Acceptance. Happiness.
"So," Henry Cheng said, breaking the silence. "What do we do now?"
They all laughed again. They knew Gansey had to repair the damage he'd done by missing his mother's fund-raiser at the school, find a way to explain his absence, carefully navigate the ramifications of what it would mean for his mother's political campaign, but that seemed so trivial in the moment. Because Gansey was here, alive and warm in front of them.
"I guess we should go see what the rest of the town looks like," Blue suggested, a little uncertainly. "To see if any of the demon is left over."
"No," Adam said, assuredly. "It's gone. I can feel it." It was no longer controlling his hands; no longer making him want to destroy. To hurt Ronan. Adam was only himself, and he would never hurt Ronan again.
"Cabeswater's gone, too," Ronan said. He sounded a bit mournful for his dream-forest. Adam leaned into him, and this answered another unspoken question.
"I suppose this means we move on, now," Gansey said, holding Blue's hand. He seemed tethered to it. There was a smile on his face, as if the idea of moving on, going forward, striding boldly and confidently into the future, pleased him. And because Blue was a mirror, her smile matched his.
"We move on," she said.
"We move on," Henry Cheng agreed. "The future lies before us, my new friends, bright and bold and shiny like RoboBee."
Adam and Ronan looked at each other. Ronan's mouth quirked in a half-smile, and Adam's heart did a funny thing in his chest.
They moved on.