They walked out into the sunshine together. Cassie ran ahead of Nick after she had snatched the money out of his hand.

"What do you want?" She called, her voice floating back to Nick, carried by the light breeze.

"Um." Nick smiled, knowing that his response would confuse her. "Something without shrimp."

The two friends had unique tastes in food. Cassie loved anything with fish or a little spice. Nick had grown up eating bland meals, since he was always moving and never had the time to taste what he put in his mouth.

As he expected, Cassie sighed in mild frustration. She'd been trying to persuade Nick to taste wasabi for months now, but he refused to try even one bite. "Okay."

Cassie ordered their lunch, which gave Nick time to catch up to her. Leaning against the side of the vendor's cart, he ran a hand through his windswept hair. "You've gotta slow down, Cass," he implored. "I'm too old to sprint like this."

"You're not old, Nick," she snorted, hefting two large bowls of soup—one with hot peppers—and poked Nick's chest with one of the chopsticks she held. "Exercise is good for you, so quit complaining."

Nick rolled his eyes, but he knew she was right.

It didn't take them long to finish eating. Cassie studied Nick as he slurped the last of his noodles. Her chin rested in her hands, falling only an inch from the tabletop.

"What?" He was confused by the intensity of her gaze, and even more confused that she would choose to focus on him.

"Oh, nothing," she stood abruptly and began walking back in the direction they had come.

"Alright," he said, clearly skeptical. Their walk back to Nick's home was spent in silence. Cassie stared at the cracked ground below her boots, occasionally stopping to look at the scenery surrounding them. Not once did she say anything to Nick.

--PUSH--

She entered Nick's home a few seconds before he did, extracting her feet from her boots and dumping them carelessly on the floor. Nick ignored her sloppiness, choosing to simply Move her footwear out of the way.

"So are you staying here, or what?" Nick asked bluntly, his tone of voice letting Cassie know that he didn't appreciate the mess she was making in his home.

Emerald eyes flashed up to meet his brown ones. "Yeah, for a little while. I need a place to crash…if that's all right with you." Cassie knew she didn't really have to ask permission, but she'd stayed in so many strangers' homes over the last few months that it had become a habit.

"That's fine with me. Don't eat all my food." Nick had planned to hole himself up in his bedroom after laying down the law. He figured that he could let Cassie have free reign over the living room. She'd just have to sleep on the couch, because there was no way in hell he was sharing a bed with a girl.

As he turned to walk down the narrow hallway, Nick stopped. Some invisible force inside his chest seemed to be pulling him towards Cassie, rooting him where he was. He turned around, and gasped shakily when he saw that she was Watching something. He had never gotten used to the way her face contorted when she Saw.

"Cassie-" Speaking to her was useless. She had never been able to listen to anyone while a vision had her attention.

So Nick waited. Each second ticked by, agonizingly slow. The suspense was so thick that it was almost painful. He hoped that Cassie wasn't seeing anything frightening…

"Nick."

His head snapped up. Cassie stood right in front of him, staring directly into his eyes.

For a long moment, they were both silent, each mesmerized by the sight of the other's utter stillness. There was no sound in the poorly lit kitchen, save for the harsh rasp of their breathing.

Then the tip of Cassie's tongue ran over her lips, wetting them.

And just like that, he knew.

Instinctively, he leaned forward. Though Nick had never been in this situation before, he knew what to do.

"Let me show you what I Saw," Cassie said, taking two tiny steps so that they were pressed together in a human sandwich.

Then her lips touched Nick's, so gently at first. Nick's eyes widened and he deepened the pressure in response. He wasn't sure how he knew what to do. It was like he'd gone on autopilot, unable to think or move, but still able to feel.

He could feel a lot of things—relief, need, desire, wanting, and just the smallest hint of pain—but they were all insignificant compared to the sensation of Cassie's kiss. It was their kiss, certainly, but Nick had no real control over what he was doing.

His inhibitions had been replaced by boldness, courage he drew upon as all the years of unrequited love came rushing back.

Without pausing to take a breath, Nick ran his tongue over Cassie's lip. He could feel her smiling, her mouth opened willingly to him and there was no longer any space separating them from each other. They were standing as close to each other as physically possible without taking their clothes off.

"Wait," Nick said, breathing heavily. "You're telling me you saw this coming?"

Cassie nodded, smirking. "Actually, the way it happened in my head was much less exciting."

Nick barked a laugh. "My lack of kissing expertise is exciting, huh?" He was still reeling, trying to process what had just happened.

She nodded again, her face flushing. "To me, it is." Her hand had somehow found its way into Nick's.

They kissed again, expressing five years' worth of love not through words, but actions.

Cassie had found an addiction that was healthier than alcohol. Nick had found a lasting love.

In the end, they found hope in an ordinary place: each other.