I Hear it Call in the Center of it All (You're the Love of my Life)
Charles is 16 years old when Nana Boyle calls a family meeting and tells him and the rest of his cousins about The Gift. She sits them all down and explains everything there is to know about this odd sound they experience hearing sometimes; these bells that start chiming in their ears at the most random times and places and why they seem to be the only ones to be bothered by them.
Those are wedding bells, she says in her most serious tone once she's sure she has everyone's attention. Us Boyles can detect soulmates. You'll hear this sound every time you'll bump into two people who are meant to be together meeting for the very first time.
It doesn't take long after that for Charles to start interrupting said first meetings by enthusiastically shouting I'm hearing wedding bells! to the lucky – yet completely oblivious about their fate – souls he gets the chance to cross paths with, even those he doesn't know. They often stare at him in return with confused looks or dark glares but it never stops him from doing so.
He's got a gift, and he well intends to use it to spread the love around, putting the idea of a potential future together inside these people's heads.
He never forgets any of the encounters and following callings he experiences through the years but his biggest, most important one happens by the time he's 38 and has been working at the Nine-Nine for a couple of years. It's a fine Thursday morning and he barely has the time to come inside the precinct when his ears start buzzing and the now very familiar sound of bells resonates in his mind.
He quickens his steps and carefully looks around in search of who might have triggered it, letting the ever-increasing noise lead him towards the promised ones when he catches them near the elevator. Jake's back is on him but he could recognize his best friend's figure anywhere; the woman who's facing him though is no-one he's ever seen in the building before.
It soon becomes clear why when he hears her introducing herself to the other detective while he approaches the pair.
"Oh, hi. I'm starting today. Detective Santiago."
Charles's heart misses a beat as he watches his colleague and one of the people he cares about the most extend his arm to shake this Detective Santiago's – his soulmate's – hand from behind. He's wished for this moment to happen from the second he met Jake – to be able to witness his encounter with the person he's destined with – and it's now happening.
This is by far the most emotional calling he's ever had the chance to experience.
He doesn't waste any more minute then to rush to his best friend's side and exclaim as soon as the younger man is done introducing himself, "I'm hearing wedding bells!" with more enthusiasm than he's ever said those five random, though so significant words since he started shouting them all those years ago.
Jake shoots him a dark glare while their new colleague seems confused and probably embarrassed, her mouth half-open and her cheeks red but he couldn't care less.
He knows these two are soulmates and really, it's all that matters to him.
Jake learns that Charles can detect when two people are soulmates (or so he says) pretty much from the beginning of their relationship. He catches him flinch at his desk when Rosa introduces herself to Gina on her first day at the Nine-Nine. He sees him bring a hand to his ear as if something's bothering him before a huge smile spreads across his features and he stands up.
"What's up, buddy?" Jake frowns at him curiously. Charles's grin only grows bigger as he shots a glance at the two women a few feet away from them.
"I'm hearing wedding bells!" he exclaims in a very ecstatic tone for only answer.
A disgusted pout forms on both their faces at his words. Rosa throws a pen at him to make him shush while Gina shakes her head.
"Back off, Charles," she threatens. But it doesn't scare nor stop him; he only sits back at his desk with a smile that doesn't want to leave his features.
"I have a gift, y'know." He rolls his chair towards Jake, far too close for his own liking, and whispers in his ear. "All the Boyles have it. We can hear bells singing in our ears whenever we witness the meeting of two soulmates. You'll see. These two are made for each other." He points into their colleagues' direction.
"Sure thing."
Jake doesn't pay it too much attention at first – nor when several similar scenes happen through the years of their partnership and friendship and make the man start rambling about how beautiful love is and how he wishes someday he'll be able to hear wedding bells for him and his soulmate (Jake even has to stop him once as he exclaims the words in front of a dead body and their grieving wife). He doesn't quite believe such a thing as knowing two people are the perfect match is possible.
All the more so when it comes from supposed 'wedding bells' nobody else can hear.
Even when Charles appears out of nowhere and interrupts his first meeting with Amy with his nonsense, the thought doesn't really linger into his mind that she could indeed be the one. Especially since they can not get along well at the beginning of their time working as partners. There's absolutely no way he can picture her as his future wife then.
Until a few years pass and Rosa and Gina shock everyone with the news.
"We're getting married!" the civilian administrator calls a meeting one morning and makes the big announcement through one of her elaborate dances.
They didn't even know these two were dating. Except for one of them.
"I knew it!" Charles, who's sitting beside him, exclaims as he waves his arms in the air and squeals in his chair with excitement before he can't keep it to himself any longer and stands up, bringing the fiancées into a warm hug despite their reluctance. Jake shoots a quick glance at Amy across the room – she's smiling broadly and her eyes are filled with barely contained happiness for their friends.
He feels a pang in his chest as he looks at her, Charles's words suddenly coming back to his mind and going on a loop inside his head.
I have a gift.
I'm hearing wedding bells!
If they are to believe the shining diamond ring on his oldest friend's left finger, Charles did predict Rosa and Gina's future. Could this mean he's right about him and Amy too, and he's bound to marry her someday – or at least spend the rest of his life with her?
He has to admit it, picturing themselves romantic-stylez doesn't seem as unrealistic to him as it did before. He's kind of developed a crush on her during the past months, seeing her under a new light – she's smart and funny and beautiful and he most definitely enjoys spending time with her, whether working on a case together or hanging out outside of work. But to go as far as saying she's the one for him according to the universe itself (a fact shared through Charles's weird words)… It might be too much to believe still.
Jake shakes his head and turns his gaze away from Amy, refocusing on the women they're celebrating. This is nothing but just a coincidence, he tries to tell himself. She most likely doesn't like him like that. And even if she does, it doesn't mean they'll end up together and get married or something.
He doesn't even have the guts to ask her out despite planning to for a while. Surely if they were meant to be he would have taken the leap weeks ago.
He still spends the rest of his day making some research – just out of curiosity, nothing else – and the results surprisingly all come back the same: every pair of people he could remember (and find again) Charles said would get married have indeed tied the knot already or are at least in what seems like a pretty serious relationship.
He and Amy are the only ones left without having found each other yet and he doesn't quite know what to make of this new piece of information.
Amy's watching the happy couple doing shots at the counter of the bar during their engagement party at Shaw's when Charles comes sitting next to her.
"I told them when they met that I heard wedding bells," he says dreamily as he takes a sip of his beer, his eyes stuck on the two women as well as he speaks. Amy turns to look at him with a frown.
"What?"
"I heard wedding bells when I witnessed their first meeting. Just like the ones I heard when you and Jake first met."
Charles grins at her knowingly as he tries to explain himself but she still doesn't understand.
"What?" Amy repeats with a pout. She can't seem to be able to let out any other word, watching her friend in confusion. What the hell is he talking about?! There's one thing she does get, though – the awful reminder of that awkward first meeting she had with Jake because of him. Years later, she still gets vivid nightmares of that moment sometimes.
She can feel shivers of wild horror running down her spine at the simple thought of that encounter. She's still in the slow process of forgetting that painful memory.
"It's the Boyle Gift. We can predict when two people are made for each other – you and Jake definitely are the next ones. I've already prepared my best man's speech for your wedding."
His smile gets even bigger. Amy opens her mouth, about to reply with something but the words get stuck at the back of her throat. For sure this is a lot to take in.
Instinctively, her eyes switch from Charles to scan the room in front of her, in search of one person in the middle of the crowd. She finds Jake standing and talking with Holt, a beer in his hand. For a second their gazes meet and he shoots her a bright smile that quickly reciprocates on her own features as her heart misses a beat in her chest.
Could he really be…?
She's familiar with the concept of soulmates and people being able to identify them one way or another – she's read books about it, but she always thought about them as another myth. She's never been too keen on imagining the universe not leaving her the choice of who she might fall in love with and having someone supposedly 'made' for her without having a say in who they might be.
But now, as Charles's words resonate in her ears with a whole new meaning and she watches while Jake joins the fiancées in their drinking game and his laughter rises into the air, it somehow all makes sense.
He's her best friend after all. The one person she confides in about pretty much everything. And he makes her laugh like no-one else does… So maybe they could make a good match indeed.
As all these thoughts run fast into her mind, Amy feels the sudden urge to tuck her hair behind her ears, both at the same time, her gaze still focused on her colleague and supposed soulmate. She gets lost so deep in her reverie that she doesn't hear steps coming her way moments later. It's only when Jake calls her, two beers in his hands with one for her that she eventually looks up at him.
Charles apparently left her side at some point, she realizes too.
"You alright?" He studies her for a beat after she grabs the bottle and takes a sip.
Amy stares at him in silence. She doesn't know how to tell him what she just learned, a little scared of how he might react.
A little scared he's just going to laugh at her and reject her, making fun of how naive she is for believing in such things as soulmates.
"Charles just told me the strangest thing…" she trails off as the start of her explanation.
"What did he say?" Jake raises a curious eyebrow.
"He said he's got a gift."
Judging by his reaction, the way he stiffens next to her and suddenly averts his gaze, Amy understands Jake is already aware of it all.
"You knew about it?" she stills seeks confirmation.
"Yeah but I mean, it's Charles. You could pretty much make him believe anything." He lets out a laugh – but it's no teasing, rather some nervous chuckle, still not looking at her as he takes a gulp of his beverage.
Amy frowns. She decides to go with the truth.
"I think he's right. I read about those things. It happened before. And well, tonight's a pretty good proof of what he's saying too."
These words actually make him jerk his gaze back on her, apparently starling him. There's a new glint shining inside his brown eyes that's reflecting in the dim light of the bar – a glimmer of hope, it seems.
"You do? You… you think we're meant to be?" He stares at her in awe and she offers him a small smile in return.
A song is playing in the background, and despite the noise the other patrons make around them, Amy can still hear some of its lyrics being repeated several times – you're the love of my life… She lets out a small chuckle as she listens to the music. If this isn't another sign the universe is throwing at them…
"I mean, it wouldn't hurt to try and find out if this," she points between the two of them, driven by a new boost of confidence that the few drinks she downed in the last hours probably helped to get, "could work. If you want to." She shrugs.
She can feel the tip of her ears starting to burn in a blush that's soon to spread on her cheeks and neck and her heart pounding in her chest so hard she can hear it resonate in her head. She knows she wants to. If she's being truthful with herself, she's been thinking about what dating Jake could be like from even before she learned about this soulmates thing and how he was it for her according to Charles.
She just didn't think it could be a possibility he would like her back. But if they're to believe the laws of the universe (and his body language when he learned that she knew about Charles's gift and her own opinion on it), there's a good chance he does finally.
"I'd like nothing more," he says the words she so wished to hear from him.
Jake releases a sigh of relief and shoots her a huge grin. He watches her without moving for a moment, eyes shining in the dark before he finally takes a step in her direction. He breaks the short distance between their two bodies by grabbing her waist and pulling her into a kiss. Amy's quick to answer, wrapping her own arms around his neck while his have made their way up her back.
They're both smiling blissfully when they part, the same thought going inside their minds: this felt good. This felt right.
(From afar, Charles catches their shared moment with a dreamy smile and a tear of joy falling down his cheek. The wedding bells never lie nor get mistaken.)
(Jake and Amy indeed get married three years later in front of the precinct where they once first met, a ceremony put together by Charles himself after he inadvertently ruined their first venue. They walk down the aisle hand-in-hand to the sound of real wedding bells after sealing their union with a kiss and their friend nearly collapses when they pass by his seat.
It's the most magical day of their lives for the three of them.)