Work Text:
Crowds never bothered Kacey much before. While she would much rather be out rock climbing with her partner August, the hum and bustle of crowds usually wasn’t much of a problem. Key word being usually. Jerking from the hit of a stray elbow, Kacey scowled fiercely at the offender but backed further behind the huge stone column she was waiting by. Even though shoving them right back was tempting, her accidental attacker was already gone, swept away in the stream of bustling bodies walking past. Well, bodies wasn’t quite the right word. More like the impression of bodies. Being dead and in the spirit world was confusing like that.
Kacey huffed, tapping her foot and turning her scowl to her watch. How it still worked here was a mystery but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Reading the time, she sighed and scanned the crowd again. Rose was supposed to meet her here 10 minutes ago. For someone who had lived and died in the Victorian Era, Rose was horrible at arriving on time and this was no exception. Though maybe that was the point, Kacey mused. Since meeting her after Kacey arrived in the spirit world (you mean died, the little traitorous part of her mind whispered), Kacey’s best friend never had fit into the Victorian idea of the perfect woman.
But Victorian women or not, Rose was late and she promised they would visit the living world together. Sure they could have visited anytime, there's a reason hauntings are year round, but they had decided on Halloween for a reason. The Ports connecting the living and spirit worlds were the most stable and that really helped for first time visitors like Kacey. That also meant that they were now the most busy too. Which really sucked because since the Ports are the literal bridges between worlds, they also reflected the former living traveling through them.
The Port shifted yet again as Kacey bit back a groan. Before it had been Grand Central station and before that it was Kanazawa Station, but now it shifted to look like King’s Cross Station. ‘Huh, so Harry Potter was right about the afterlife.’ Kacey thought amusedly, chuckling to herself. Overhead, a robotic voice cut across the din of the crowd, making Kacey tense and straighten. “seven hours left until dawn.”
‘Dang it.’ “Come on. Come on Rose, where are you?” Kacey muttered. The crowd hadn’t thinned in the slightest, if anything it was even more packed as more rushed to cross. If she waited any longer Kacey might miss her chance to see August and their little daughter, Allie. Halloween night was when the Ports were the most stable, but that was just it. Halloween night. Once the sun comes up the Ports are back to being as unpredictable as ever. It wasn’t a total cut between the worlds but there was no telling when they would stabilize enough to visit again.
“Rose...” Kacey stressed, scanning the crowd. Should she just cross by herself? The spirits that had crossed before always said the first time was the hardest and having a buddy helps. Plus Rose has traveled to the living world countless times. But no matter how experienced Rose was with crossing, she was late now and Kacey really wanted to spend as much time as possible among the living. It shouldn’t be too hard to go by herself, right? She's waited the required 15 years before visiting. Apparently visiting any sooner had driven some insane because they couldn’t leave their humanity and life behind. She finally had waited the torturously long time, plus she was 38 (‘when you died’). She could handle this.
Mind made up, Kacey pushed her way into the crowd. Now that she wasn’t fighting against the crowd to stay put, it was easy to make her way further into the Port to cross. The signs displaying the visiting rules flashed overhead. Be Back Before Dawn or You Will Be Pulled Back Automatically Due To Port Instability. Living Can NOT See Spirits But Try To Avoid Direct Contact. Each One Entity Is Allowed 2 Adoptions Of Wandering Animal Spirits Each Singular Visit.
Reading the last one, Kacey felt a bit of hope flutter in her chest. ‘Maybe I can find Pepsi and Obi.’ Her beloved little cats (affectionately called her furry kids by August) had died years before she passed to the spirit realm. She began looking for them once she arrived but hadn't had any luck so far. It was entirely possible that they were just stuck in the living world.
Reaching the center of the Portal, Kacey rounded a corner and gasped. For how grandiose the Port is, she had honestly expected a grand tension bridge or maybe some sort of magic elevator. Instead a white glowing cube large enough to fit a person in it greeted her. The spirits ahead of her placed their hands on it and disappeared, presumably to the living world. Taking a deep breath, Kacey took a step forward. ‘Wow, this is really happening. I’m finally going home again.’ She placed her hand against the cube. She had just enough time to briefly wonder at its warmth before the world went dark.
~~~
‘Did it work?’ Kacey blearily opened her eyes and immediately blanched. Something had definitely worked. Instead of the Portal and it’s King’s Cross impression, she now was situated under what looked like a bridge? A dusty and cracked sidewalk bordering rushing water greeted her. Light from a nearby lamp post wearily crept into the tunnel, dispelling the darkness just enough to barely see. Rushed graffiti lined the monotone wall on one side and a gust of wind chilled the nighttime air. Yep, definitely a bridge. Leaning against the wall, Kacey took a moment to just breathe.
She had forgotten how loud the living world could be. And overwhelming. The spirit world certainly wasn’t monotone, but it could never fully replicate the- the everything from the living world. Apparently 15 years was enough to make something as plain as a bridge seem bigger than life. ‘Ha, bigger than life.’ Sometimes her genius astounded even her. Kacey took a moment to process. Ok, wow, if crossing to the living world was enough to make her start cracking puns and then congratulating herself about them, maybe crossing with a buddy would have been a smart choice. Oh well.
Chuckling softly, Kacey pushed off the wall and looked a bit more closely at her surroundings. Now that she thought about it, this spot under the bridge did look awfully familiar. Wandering out from under its shadow, she gasped. Past the shore of the river and up a little ridge, a neighborhood quietly stood. Trees littered the grass between the sidewalks and roads, forming dancing shadows from the lit porch lights. Plastic skeletons and fake spider webs mixed with fallen leaves in the yards, lending to the spooky air. A few teens hurried down one of the streets, shrieking and laughing before quickly shushing each other. ‘Right, it's got to be about midnight by now.’ Kacey dazedly realized. Midnight or not, seeing the neighborhood where she had lived was just as bittersweet as if it was day.
Choking back a watery laugh, Kacey rubbed her arms to warm against the chill she could just barely feel. A perk of being a ghost apparently, resistance to weather. Before she could even take a step forward, twin blurs rocketed towards her from further down the bank, shrieking like little banshees. Funny thing was that those blurs sounded real familiar-
“Obi! Pepsi! Oh my gosh, you little fiends are here!” Kacey shrieked happily, dropping into a crouch and flinging her arms open to catch the ghost cats as they barrelled into her. The momentum tipped her over and landed her flat on her back, but Kacey was too busy laughing to care. The little fuzz balls darted around her, jumping onto her chest to nose at her face. Both of them looked almost exactly like they did before, Pepsi her deep black color and Obi a brown tabby with his white chest and muzzle. They were a little transparent and left tiny blue glowing pawprints, but other than that Kacey would have thought that nothing had happened.
“You guys are here!” Kacey celebrated, hugging them tightly, “It's been way too long.” Releasing them from her rather tight hug, she stood, careful not to accidentally step on them. The little terrors did terrifyingly good impressions of snowspeeders taking down AT-ATs from The Empire Strikes Back. She grinned as they proved her right, basically glueing themselves to her legs. “All right, you two ready to go find August and Ally?”
Pepsi chirped excitedly and batted Obi’s ear. Not one to be out done, Obi swatted back only to miss as Pepsi took off and instead gave chase. Kacey laughed at their antics and jogged after them, crossing into the neighborhood. She had missed all the mischief the two cats had gotten into frequently. Even if that mischief usually had resulted in a mess to clean. In the moment those weren’t great, but looking back Kacey could only feel fond amusement. ‘I wonder why they never got to the spirit world?’
She shook herself from that train of thought. It would only lead to more depressing thoughts which she did not need right now. It was her first time back in the living world, Kacey was not going to ruin it for herself. Like noticing that some of the houses had been remodeled or that elderly Ms. Blair’s many bird feeders were now gone. Mentally waving the sudden moroseness away, Kacey continued jogging down the sidewalk after the cats. Suddenly and with no warning, Pepsi and Obi stopped. Both were focused on a nearby tree, ears pricked forward and still as statues.
Kacey glanced at the tree then at the cats. “Hey guys, what do you see?” Of course they didn’t respond but they didn’t move either so whatever was there really got their attention. Looking more closely, Kacey squinted and tried to see between the few bunches of rustling leaves left. ‘Wait. Is that kitten up there??’
It was. The poor little thing was pitifully clinging to a branch about half way up, more fuzz than body. With the poor lighting, Kacey couldn’t see it all that well but even she could tell it was miserable. Obi padded up to the base of the tree and mewed anxiously at the kitten. It’s little head whipped around to look down at him and mewed back. ‘It can see us.’ Kacey realized with a start. Now that was a surprise. Every spirit she had talked to said that the living can’t see them. Then again people always joke about cats seeing ghosts, so maybe there was a bit of truth to that. Anyways, the little one needed help.
Gently nudging Obi out of the way, Kacey sized up the tree. It couldn’t be that different from rock climbing, right? Only a little bit of flailing later, Kacey was able to pull herself to be level with the kitten. It’s huge kitten blue eyes watched her warily but it didn’t move. “Hey there buddy,” she murmured soothingly as she reached for the kit, “I’m not going to hurt you, come on.” Grabbing it’s scruff, Kacey gently brought it closer and began to climb down.
Hopping down from the lowest branch, Kacey released her little cargo on the ground. Pepsi and Obi quickly swarmed the kit, nosing him and licking his fur. The kitten very vocally voiced his displeasure at the fussing but let Pepsi lick the top of his head a few times. How this would look to any random living person walking by, Kacey had no idea. Luckily they didn’t have to deal with that problem as it was much too late for many to be out.
Now that the kitten was down from the tree, it was much easier to get a good look at him. The little guy was an off white color, not quite cream but not white either. He also didn’t have a collar. Poor thing was thin under all that fuzz too so he probably didn’t have an owner either. Kacey couldn’t adopt him with him being a live kitten and all, but it couldn’t hurt to let him tag around for a bit. Pepsi and Obi certainly had taken a shine to him already. He would just need a name…
“How about we call you Ghost, little one? Would you like that?” She cooed at the kit. The newly dubbed Ghost just meowed at her and let her scratch behind his ears. Eh, close enough to yes. “Great! Ok Ghost, it's kind of complicated but you’ll only be able to hang out with us for a little while. Right now, we’re going to see our family. Wanna come with?” Ghost dislodged himself from Pepsi and tottered over to Kacey. She grinned. “Awesome.”
Standing up, Kacey realized her house was only a few blocks away from there. That- that was an interesting thought. She was so excited to see August and Ally but at the same time it was hard to believe that this was finally happening. It had been 15 years, they definitely won’t be the same as how she remembered them. ‘It’ll be fine. Just pop in and see how they are. Deep breath.’ she thought determinedly. Her resolve hardened, Kacey began walking, the cats trailing behind her. She didn’t notice, but she left softly glowing footprints as she walked.
~~~
Somehow the house was exactly how she remembered yet totally alien at the same time. The two story house was still structurally the same, but the blue paint had been refreshed. The loveseat on the front patio had been replaced by a double swing chair. The drapes covering the windows inside were different (‘Ally accidentally broke the last ones’). The raised garden bed was still there next to the driveway, but nothing was growing. They must have cleared everything when the frost crept in. (‘there were zucchini and peas last time’).
Kacey took a shuddering breath. This was already a lot harder than she thought it would be and she hadn’t even gotten past the front door. Instead she hovered anxiously at the steps to the porch. ‘Change is good,’ she reminded herself, ‘Ally isn’t a little kid anymore. August is going to be older than I remember. That's good. It’s natural’. Pretending she didn’t notice how much she was trembling, Kacey hugged herself. She knew, logically, that she could just walk through the front door and nothing would happen. But was it bad that she kind of wanted something to happen? For something to show she was back? They won’t be able to see her, so it would probably just freak them out, but still.
Perhaps sensing her tremulous thoughts, Obi and Pepsi circled around her feet. The little dears were doing their best to comfort her and that alone warmed her heart. Ghost bumbled up the steps, excited to be exploring. Kacey bit back a faint giggle as the little ball of fluff reached the porch and started prancing around. Bringing Ghost along definitely was the right decision. Though he was going to have to wait somewhere outside. Unlike her and the ghost cats, Ghost couldn’t pass through solid objects.
Kacey shook out her arms. She could do this, it was now or never. Calling quietly to Ghost, Kacey walked over to the swing bench. August had always loved sitting in as many pillows and blankets as humanly possible and that clearly hadn’t changed over the years. Chuckling weakly at the nostalgia, she arranged the blanket into a little nest for Ghost to stay in while she went inside. Scooping the kitten up, she carefully put him in the middle of it and grabbed a few pillows to lay over him for added warmth. “Stay here.” she told the kit faux sternly, gently bopping his nose. Hopefully he would stay put.
Ghost taken care of, all that was left to do was to go inside. Kacey stared at the door for a second. ‘This is it.’ She thought, ‘Just a few more steps.’ Steadying herself, she took a deep breath and shook her arms out again. She closed her eyes. She stepped through the door. A pause. No alarms sounded and nothing exploded either. She felt Obi or Pepsi rub against her legs and walk further into the house. ‘Here goes nothing.’.
Tentatively, Kacey slowly opened her eyes and blinked. It was so different then what she remembered. But at the same time it was similar. A mix of moonlight and lamp light peeked through the drapes at the same angle as usual. Shoes were still stacked neatly in the cubbies near the door, but now there were shoes for just two adults. The coat rack was as messy as ever but not overflowing anymore. The thin mirror she and August had found at a garage sale still hung just slightly crooked. Through the doorway into the living room, the furniture was unchanged. Even the little stain in the couch was still there from when Kacey spilt a cup of coffee. She had to smile at that.
The echoes of what sounded like a horror film drifted through the house. ‘That’s right, the halloween movie marathon.’ Kacey remembered, ‘I can’t believe they're still doing that.’ Passing quietly through the living room, the pictures on the fireplace mantle caught her eye. There were four of them, but Kacey only recognized two. The first one she knew was of the day she and August met. It was at the International Climber’s Festival and August had challenged her on who could tie a basic autoblock knot the fastest. The other was a family picture the day they adopted Ally. It was weird to think that she'd be 24 now. One of the new pictures was of Ally and August. Ally was holding her college diploma and both of them were cheering. The other was a teenage Ally ecstatically holding a truly huge cup of ice cream. Kacey marveled at the pictures. Ally had grown up so much, she was almost as tall as August now. August hadn’t changed too much, but their hair was longer now, reaching almost to their elbows.
A shrill horror movie scream cut through the house again, yanking Kacey out her near trance. Obi dashed through her legs, running towards the stairs to the basement where the tv was set up. Obi had loved their movie marathons, always snuggling with August in their mound of blankets. Kacey laughed at the memories. A notable one being the time Kacey had accidentally used sugar instead of salt on the popcorn. Ally still ate it, even though she preferred it salted and complained about the taste the entire time. August had practically laughed themself sick.
Following the pawprints, Kacey cautiously snuck down the stairs. The basement was dark, the only light coming from the tv. The couch and chair were still there, as was the mini bar in the back corner. Pepsi was already perched in her favorite spot on the shelves behind the bar. She blended in with the darkness unsurprisingly well, but her glowing pawprints gave her away. Obi trilled happily from the back of the couch before hopping down to the cushions and disappearing from view. Kacey could just make out the tops of August and Ally’s heads over the couch. The movie continued to play. Ally and August were giggling at the dramatics of it.
Her breath caught in her throat. They were here. Wobbly, Kacey walked around the couch. Even looking at the pictures hadn’t prepared her for how grown up her family was. Ally lounged against the arm of the couch, curled in a blanket, with August on the other couch arm. Obi loafed between them, faintly purring. Her s/o had pulled their blanket over their head, pretending to wail with fright as Ally laughed hard enough to drop her popcorn. With a shriek, she saved her bowl just before the kernels could scatter. August started to guffaw, but was quickly shushed by Ally throwing a popcorn kernel at them.
Even Kacey had to chuckle at that. It stung something fierce that she wasn’t able to join them, but it was good to see them so happy. More than good actually. Kacey felt a little bit of weight lift off her shoulders. She hadn’t thought they’d be in disarray or anything, but 15 years was a long time. Anything could have happened and she wouldn’t have known. But it seemed like nothing too bad did. Humming, Kacey let herself fall onto the chair next to the couch. Curiously, her weight didn’t make an imprint on the cushion but it was still comfortable as ever.
Seeing her sit down, Obi jumped from the couch and settled himself in her lap. Kacey absentmindedly started to pet him. August and Ally had settled down as well, so the family watched the movie together. Briefly, Kacey considered sitting on the couch with them but decided it would probably be best to stay put for now. No matter how much she wanted to hug them. Nevertheless, the movie played on. The plot wasn’t anything special, but the jump scares were good. Kacey had to stop herself several times from leaning over to whisper about how silly it was to August. The movie ended and Ally set up the next one. This time, Ally fell asleep somewhere before halfway through. When that movie ended, August checked the time and groaned before slowly getting up.
“Come on bud, it’s almost morning. You should at least get some sleep in your bed.” August called softly, prodding Ally gently to wake her up. Ally groaned and tried to bring the blanket over her head but August grabbed it, chuckling, before she could. “I know, just help me bring all the bowls and stuff up, ok?”
Ally grumbled her reluctant agreement. August smiled and started picking up some scattered candy wrappers. After a moment, Ally sat up and grabbed her phone to check the time. And kept tapping at it when it turned back off. ‘She’s stalling.’ Kacey realized.
“Hey, Zaza?” she asked, looking uncharacteristically hesitant. August hmmed. “Do you think mom would have done this? The movie marathon with us, I mean. If she were still around.” The last bit was mumbled, but Kacey’s heart broke nonetheless. August took a sharp breath and let it out slowly.
“Yeah, hands down.” They smiled nostalgically, “She was the one who started the tradition, you know. We used to go to a drive-in theater, but staying home turned out to be just as fun sometimes. We’d rent a whole stack of movies. Now you can just stream them.”
“I thought you started it.” Ally countered with wide eyes. Kacey smirked a little at that. August had enjoyed watching the halloween movies, but it’d be a blue moon before they’d actively go out of their way to watch one. Ally continued, shrugging a bit as she talked. “I kind of miss her, you know?”
August pulled their daughter into a hug. “Yeah, I miss her too.” They stood there for a moment before pulling back. “Come on, let's get these bowls put away and then try to get some sleep.”
Kacey thought her heart was going to wrench out of her chest. The combination of nostalgia and heartache was getting to her. She had just barely arrived but she would have to leave soon. It was already so close to dawn. But she couldn’t leave them like this. She had already missed so much and new things were always going to happen! Who was going to look after them until she could visit again? Surely they had the rest of their family and friends, but they all had their own lives to deal with.
In a flash, Kacey realized what she could do. It wasn’t much and it’d be a bit of work for them, but she needed to do something. She couldn’t stand the thought of going back without letting Ally and August know that at least someone was looking after them. Besides, she knows August had been looking for a new cat after Obi and Pepsi passed. Hopefully they still held the same sentiment. Racing up the stairs, she barreled through the living room and out the door. Rounding on the swing, Kacey quickly lifted one of the pillows. Little Ghost blinked at her, clearly just woken up.
“Sorry little guy, but I figured something out, you can stay here! Would you like that? You’d have to look after them for me though, but it shouldn’t be too hard.” Kacey enthused, picking Ghost up. The kit looked a little confused at the sudden change but his little ears perked up and he began to fuss a bit. When Kacey set him down, determined not to be too disappointed if he ran away, Ghost ran the best he could with his little legs to the front door. Her breath caught in her throat. ‘Can he understand me?” she thought incredulously. Either way, she didn’t have time to ponder the revelation.
“We just need to figure out how to get Kacey or Ally to see you.” She mused out loud. She looked at her hands. It was already proven she could interact with objects if she wanted, could she just knock? Holding her breath, she knocked on the door. Dull thuds rang out each time her knuckles hit the door. After a moment she could hear muffled grumbling from inside. The door swung open to reveal Ally very ready to tell off whoever was knocking. Not seeing anyone, she visibly faltered before starting to close the door. Ghost puffed up as much as he could and yowled, demanding to be seen. Ally blinked at him. “Uh, Zaza? Someone left a kitten on the porch.”
“What?” August walked up behind her to take a look. “I can’t believe someone just abandoned them here. Well, I don't see anyone, you ok with taking them in? At least for the night?”
Ally grinned. “Totally. It’ll be like when we had Pepsi and Obi.”
“You remember them?” August glanced at her in surprise. “You were pretty young when they died.”
“Sorta, just bits and pieces.” She shrugged, then grimaced dramatically, “I swear I still find their fur around the house though.”
Kacey laughed. She didn’t know if ghost cats could leave fur or not but it was hilarious either way. Both Ally and August looked at her suddenly, surprise written clearly on their faces. “Did you hear that?” August asked breathlessly. Ally just nodded, not looking away. Though they couldn’t see them, Obi and Pepsi trotted through their legs on their way to Kacey.
Kacey laughed again, the sound watery and thin this time but still there. She could feel a tug in her gut calling her back. It was almost dawn. Stooping quickly, she scooped up the ghost cats, draping Pepsi over her shoulders and Obi in her arms. Straightening, she looked at her family again. Ghost sat quietly in the doorway. August and Ally were still staring, looking at her but not seeing her. Trying to see someone they couldn’t see, but thought might be there. Poor August looked so hopeful and Kacey’s already sore heart just about shattered. Quickly, before she could change her mind, Kacey darted forward and cupped their face with her hands. She gently kissed their forehead and stayed there, pretending just for a moment that she never left. That August and Ally would hug her and they’d all go enjoy some popcorn together before heading to bed.
“I love you guys. I’ll visit again soon.” She promised and like that, Kacey was pulled back into the spirit world, vanishing as if she had never returned. Nearby, a little cardinal hopped off a tree branch and flew away.