Eternal flame

Siamese – I am doing my best to update as soon as possible. Yes, Phoebe is showing off her softer side with Cole, although she doesn't want that. She can't help it! For me, Cole will always be Phoebe's safest place… And here is the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing this fic.

And also thanks to sehar for reviewing this fic…

Chapter 4 – Alone in the world

"Look, it's only four hours since they left, stop being so angry!" Piper said to Jason, who was sitting in the Manor and making sounds like an angry lion. "You heard what Cole said, it was necessary."

"Yeah, right, necessary." Jason said angrily. "That guy is just asking for excuse to stay alone with Phoebe, don't you get it?"

"Jason… You love Phoebe, and it's normal to be worried, but the problem is… You are not worried, you are sick and jealous. If you love her, don't doubt at her that much. She'll be fine with Cole."

"Yes, she'll be fin in bed with Cole." Jason insisted. "I mean… I told Phoebe that I'll try to make her fell in love with me again. And how the hell am I supposed to do that, if I don't even get a chance. Phoebe would be happy with me. She would be happy without him."

"Phoebe will not sleep with Cole, don't worry." Piper said. "She wants him to think that she hates him, and he certainly won't think that if she sleeps with him. Don't worry."

"Oh, he thinks he will be able to steal Phoebe away from me. Well, he won't make it!" Jason yelled.

"What an idiot…" Piper thought and went to the attic to help Paige.

…

Phoebe and Cole found the apartment (the biggest one, of course!) and 'moved in'. "Finally." Cole said. "It was true that you have an expensive taste. We are looking for an apartment for two and a half hours."

"Oh, stop complaining, will you?" Phoebe said to Cole and turned around to look at the apartment. It was really gorgeous.

"Oh, we still have one problem, and the solution is up to you." Cole said. "Since the demons that are after us can show up in here anytime, you can't go anywhere without me keeping an eye on you. Bathroom doesn't count."

"Neither does the bedroom." Phoebe said and raised her eyebrows.

"Bedroom does." Cole smiled, when Phoebe made a 'don't-even-think-about-it' face. "So, you have two options – first one is for us to sleep in the same room and same bed; and the second one is to decide exactly how long are we staying here, so I can bind magic in this place, and you can go and sleep wherever you want, without me haunting you down."

"Second." Phoebe quickly said, though the first one sounded much more attractive to her. "But… What do you mean when you say 'I can bind magic in this place?' Does it mean…"

"It means that I'll make this place completely non-magical. That's how I prevent the demons to shimmer in here, but I also prevent us from shimmering out." Cole said. "So, how long are we staying here?"

"I don't know… a week? A month?"

"A month is fine with me, but it isn't fine with you. You'll start missing your sisters. And Jason." Cole said, trying not to sound jealous.

"Jason?" Phoebe yelled, and then laughed. "Don't be stupid, Cole, I will never miss Jason! But you know what? You two have a lot in common."

"Don't make me laugh, Phoebe." Cole said.

"No, I mean it! I loved you, and I loved him. Neither of those two relationships worked out. Now you're both back in my life and you're both hating each other. You both claim to love me and you're both extremely jealous. Isn't that enough?"

"Whatever." Cole said. "Could we just get back on the subject, please? We were talking about dis-powering this place. Phoebe, are you sure you could stay alone in the world for a month?"

"I'm not alone, I'm with you." Phoebe said and Cole smiled. "But, that just makes it worst." she said and his smile faded away. "Okay, I'm kidding! And I decided – bind the magic in this place for a month."

"Your wish is my command." Cole said. "I'm going to get some candles, because I need them to perform the ritual. You do whatever you want." He said and brushed her cheek. Phoebe shivered when he did that. "I'll be back soon." He said and went out of the apartment.

"I love you." Phoebe quietly said when Cole went out and closed the door behind him. She went to her room and opened the wardrobe. It was clear that, whoever lived there had a really expensive taste. Phoebe found a perfect dress to put on. It was red and silver, but it was pretty short. She smiled. It reminded her at the times when Cole and her were married. She was mostly wearing short dresses and skirts, because Cole loved the way they fit on her. "Perfect" she though and went to the bathroom to have a bubble bath and put on a dress.

"Phoebe..." Cole came back about fifteen minutes later. When he saw her wearing the shortest dress he ever saw in his life, the wish to kiss her was almost unbearable. "Uh... You look great, but... Phoebe, you really shouldn't wear this when I'm around." he said.

"Why not?" Phoebe asked.

"Because I love you and you look like an angel. You have no hell idea how much I want to kiss you in this moment." he said. "Honestly, you are the most beautiful girl in the world."

Phoebe also had a hard time trying not to kiss Cole and not to smile after what he told her. "Thanks. And I'm not planning to take this dress off because I like it. And you... Well, try not to kiss me, because you know I'll be even angrier with you than I am right now."

"Come here..." Cole sat on the couch and she sat next to him. "Why are you so mad at me? I mean, I know that we had our ups and downs before I was vanquished, but..."

"Ups and downs?" Phoebe laughed. "I'm so sorry for contradicting you, but we only had downs. Ever since my sisters and I vanquished you as a Source, we only had downs."

"Well I know." Cole took a deep breath. "And I'm really sorry for that. You know I always loved you. But, then you suddenly started hating me. So, you hated me more and more with each day, and I wanted to die because of that. But, what is the reason for all that hate? Have I done something to you?"

"I... I don't know. I guess I hate you because you hurt me. You see, I suffered a lot when you became the Source and I suffered even more after that. And than, suddenly, I realized I don't love you anymore." Phoebe said, but that wasn't what she thought. "Please, don't realize I'm lying. Please don't realize I'm lying..." she thought, and when she saw that Cole looked at her sadly, she thought: "If there was a lying competition, I would win first three places!"

"Phoebe, did you ever think that... Maybe we never had our chance?" Cole looked at Phoebe, hoped she'd say 'Yes'.

"We never had our chance?" Phoebe looked at Cole, not believing he said that. "Cole, we had at least five chances!"

"Yes, but I'm talking about real chances." Cole said. "I mean... Look: you and your sisters knew that there'll come a day when you have to vanquish the Source. It was your destiny and you knew it. Everybody knew it. And when the day came, I had three possibilities: to accept the offer of the Seer, so I can save you when the Source throws the fire ball at you; to jump in front of you without any protection and die; or to let the Source hit you with the fire ball and kill you. Of course, you realize that if you or I died, we'd never have the chance. So, the only possibility was the first one, which I accepted. By accepting it, I accepted to become a Source, though I didn't know it. So, once I became the Source, you and your sisters vanquished me and you hated me ever since. You see? We never had a chance."

(A/N: I believe that what Cole just said was true - they never had a real chance to love each other, without magic involving, 'cause if they did, they would be together now! If they did, there would be no magic to destroy Phoebe's love!)

"I... I never thought like that..." Phoebe was speechless.

"You see?" Cole said. "I'm right. Everything that happened after that, including this now, isn't really a chance, because you don't love me anymore." he finished sadly. "Well, it's 1 A.M, and I can see your yawning, so I think you should go to bed."

"Yeah... Good idea. Goodnight." She said and went to her room. She closed the door and locked them and then fell on the bed, crying. "He is right. We never had a chance." she thought. "And now, when we finally got one, I am destroying it with my lies. But, I just can't tell him what I feel. Can I?" and with these thought, she fell asleep.

"What the hell is the time?" Phoebe thought when she woke up. "It's only eight o'clock!" she couldn't believe how early it is. She came out of the room, and wanted to go to the kitchen, to prepare breakfast for her and Cole, but when she saw the door of his room was opened, she couldn't resist it - she came in.

"You look so peaceful." she whispered when she kneeled next to his bed. The sun was shining through the windows of his room, and he looked so calm, so peaceful... She placed a light kiss on his lips and then whispered in his ear "Cole... Cole, wake up." he slowly opened his beautiful blue eyes and she smiled.

"Good morning." Cole said. "What's the smile about?"

"Nothing." Phoebe quickly said. "I'm sorry for waking you up, but I needed to know what you want for breakfast."

Cole smiled, and then grabbed her hand. "You don't have to make breakfast." he said. "We can go to restaurant or go get pizza. I mean, it's all free."

"Yeah, but I thought I can prepare us something to eat." Phoebe said.

"Don't bother. Just go and get dressed. I'm going to take a shower." Cole smiled at her, though she didn't smile back (and she wanted it so much!).

"Okay." she said and walked away...

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So sorry, guys, this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I have nothing else to add in this one. I just made 'plan of chapters and events' of this fic, and I can promise that it will be quite interesting. Next chapter is gonna be even shorter (I guess!), but very important for the fic. By the way, rating will go up in this chapter (from K+ to T), because of mentioning adult themes at the beginning. I hope you review! Blessed be!