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“It would seem that we are just in time for you to go see that film you were interested in,” Edwin said as the three detectives were on the way from the concluding meeting with a satisfied client. It was quite late, but Charles and Crystal preferred the late viewings with fewer people.
Crystal checked her watch. “I could do with some mindless fun,” she said. “What about you?”
Charles stretched, satisfied with how the case had gone. “Yeah, could be fun. Edwin?”
“Absolutely not,” he said haughtily. “Mindless is not something I ever consider fun.”
“Alright, alright, Professor Payne,” Crystal said sarcastically.
They stopped just in front of the office, and Charles took off his backpack.
“Can you take this upstairs?” he asked Edwin.
“You should take it with you,” Edwin suggested. “You’ve had the tendency to get into trouble even when there wasn’t any, of late.”
Charles nudged the backpack back into place. “Someone’s on fire tonight.”
Crystal crossed her arms. “That’s one way of putting it.”
Edwin just smirked at her. “Just go and have some fun,” he said earnestly, then he leaned closer to Charles. “And don’t get into any trouble.”
“You know damn well that those imps weren’t my fault, mate.”
Edwin didn’t look like he was in need of any more entertainment and grinned widely.
Charles laughed. “Have fun with your new books, then.”
“I plan to,” Edwin confirmed.
Charles and Crystal laughed and left for their film, or they’d miss the beginning if they kept chattering the night away.
Edwin smiled after them, then he went inside. It had been a good day. The case had been a challenge, which only made it more satisfying to solve it; part of the payment had been two books that he currently held cradled in one hand, and he looked forward to dive between the pages. He felt downright carefree, though he would have insisted that he did not skip up the stairs and down the corridor to the office.
He phased through their door, already imagining himself on the sofa with his two treasures.
“Hello, darling. Did you have a good day at work?”
Edwin stopped in his tracks and looked up, his smile turned startled but widened after a moment. This was not someone he had expected to see any time soon (though definitely some time).
“Cat King,” he greeted in surprise.
“Hello, Edwin,” the Cat King returned the greeting from his seat in Edwin’s desk chair with his trademark Cheshire grin.
“This is a surprise,” Edwin added, walking closer to the desk and putting down his books.
“A pleasant one, I hope.”
Edwin playfully tilted his head. “That depends on your reason for being here, doesn’t it?” He paused. “Do you need help?” His guest was, after all, in the office of the Dead Boy Detective Agency.
The Cat King sighed dramatically. “I may have accidentally cursed myself.”
Edwin frowned, already all professional. “What curse?”
The Cat King smirked a bit. “I think it backfired when I told you you’d miss me.”
Edwin bit his lips to keep himself from laughing. “That is a shame,” he quipped. “But if we are to get to the bottom of this… curse, I should tell you that it appears to have gone both ways.”
The Cat King gasped loudly with a dramatic hand to his chest. “What have I done?”
Now, Edwin did laugh. “It is good to see you,” he further admitted.
The Cat King’s boisterous smile softened into an honest one.
“Would you like to join me on the sofa?” There was a curious and amused frown on Edwin’s face. “This is a bit disconcerting.”
“Am I in your seat?”
“You are,” Edwin confirmed.
The Cat King looked around. “Where are the other two usually situated when you have a client?” he asked curiously.
Edwin nodded at the sofa. “Crystal sits there.”
“She’s probably the only sensible one,” the Cat King said, nodding sagely.
Edwin smiled benignly and nodded at the desk. “Charles has taken to… sitting on the desk,” he said ruefully. That fact had once been a topic of several discussions about professionalism that had not gone the way Edwin had hoped.
“Hm,” the Cat King hummed, considering, his eyes inspecting the desk. He stood. “Let me guess…” His hands ran along the edge of the desk, then he hopped onto it in an eerily similar manner to Charles. “Like so?” He looked over his left shoulder at Edwin.
Edwin sighed. “Like so,” he confirmed, his smile still playing around his lips.
“Appealing,” the Cat King noted suggestively, making Edwin roll his eyes. Then his expression turned more serious, empathetic. “How are things between you and Charles?”
Edwin bit his lips and averted his eyes. “I suppose rejection is not something you are used to,” he guessed and returned the Cat King’s look again.
“Well, you haven’t thrown me out yet.”
“I have not,” Edwin agreed. “I have instead offered for you to join me on the sofa, but, so far, Crystal remains the only sensible one, it seems.”
The Cat King chuckled, stood, and slowly walked around the desk. “And you are alright?” He refused to let go of the topic until he got an answer.
Edwin sighed. “As I have told you when we first met: Charles and I are best friends. And we always will be.”
The Cat King at least appeared to accept that answer and nodded.
“I’m more than alright,” Edwin volunteered.
Now, the Cat King smiled. “Good.”
Edwin gestured at the sofa. “Please.”
“Thank you,” the Cat King said and sat, Edwin sitting to his left. “How have you been Edwin?” he asked, sinking comfortably into his seat and leaning into the corner to face his host. “I’ve been hearing some fascinating rumours.”
“Ah,” Edwin said, amused. He sat decidedly more properly, but he was also tilted towards his guest. “So it wasn’t just your unfortunate curse that brought you here. Your proverbial curiosity played a part as well.”
“Not at all,” the Cat King denied. “Hearing the rumours merely made it harder to ignore the curse.”
“I see,” Edwin said dryly.
“So, about that fascinating rumour,” the Cat King moved along the conversation. “I heard…” he made a dramatic pause, “… that you got a visit from Death’s second in command.”
Edwin blinked. “Is that who she was? We only knew that she was the superior of the Night Nurse who is supposed to be our… chaperone.” He did not like that last bit.
The Cat King’s eyes turned calculating and he absently rubbed the fingers of one hand against the thumb. “And you three just keep going as you were with that superior’s permission?” At Edwin’s nod, he nodded as well. “Isn’t that interesting?” he mused.
Now it was Edwin’s turn to calculate. “Who is Death’s second in command?” he asked directly. “And how does one become Death’s second in command?” That mystery was even more curious than the first.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” The smile was back.
“Somehow, I find that hard to believe,” Edwin said shrewdly.
The Cat King smirked. “In this particular case, I’m still deep in murky waters.” He narrowed his eyes. “It made me suspicious, and I thought I’d better check on you.”
“Very thoughtful. Again.” Edwin clearly enjoyed the discussion, but then he turned more serious. “But I don’t think that worry is necessary in this case.”
“You trust her?”
“As much as I’m going to trust anyone who can ’do whatever she likes’, as she has proclaimed.” He thought about that, his eyes losing focus for a moment. “I don’t think she means us harm. There was… something about her,” he mused. “I don’t think we need to expect any trouble from her.”
Thomas studied Edwin’s expression closely. “I’m going with your assessment,” he decided and smiled. “No one’s going to drag you to hell anymore.”
Edwin smiled back hesitantly. “At least not for the moment, and not while we’re doing this job.” He breathed out, relaxing in his seat a bit more. “Though I have the suspicion that someone is still trying to figure out my case and what it means, so who knows what the future will bring?”
“You don’t belong in hell,” the Cat King said, his voice full of certainty.
“No, I don’t.”
“And they will come to that conclusion.”
Edwin took a deep breath. “And how have you been?”
“Oh, you know me,” the Cat King waved off the question. “I’ve been great, of course.”
Edwin wasn’t impressed with that answer. “You’re right. I do know you.” He let that claim speak for itself.
The Cat King groaned loudly. “Alright, I was lonely,” he admitted. “And fucking bored. You were the most interesting thing to happen in that stupid town in centuries.”
“Again with those things I find hard to believe,” Edwin teased.
“Pleasantly interesting,” the Cat King amended.
Edwin frowned a bit in confusion. “How? How could I possibly be that interesting?”
“You honestly think there’s nothing interesting about you?”
“To someone like you?”
The Cat King pondered that. “Something about you speaks to me.” He shrugged. “There are many interesting things I could list about you, but, in the end, I guess it comes down to me liking you.”
Edwin had to smile. “The interesting things I know about you are all good reasons to not like you back.”
The Cat King laughed. “Edwin Payne, are you saying that you do like me, despite my many questionable qualities?”
“I have not kicked you out and even invited you to sit with me. The evidence does point towards your suspicion.”
The Cat King was surprised into softening his smile; Edwin’s widened.
“Have I rendered you speechless?”
“Won’t last for long,” was the immediate answer.
“So, how have you been? Really?”
The Cat King pursed his lips and stared into the middle distance. “I wasn’t lying when I said bored and lonely, but I forgot to mention that I was also fucking relieved that you took down Esther.”
Edwin leaned forward to catch the Cat King’s eyes. “With your help.”
“Didn’t do much.” The Cat King visibly didn’t like having to say that.
“Perhaps not, but it was precisely what we needed. Never mind that I didn’t do much either.” He smiled ruefully.
Now, the Cat King returned the look. “You were tied to a machine and it-” He clearly wanted to leave it at that, and he just as clearly couldn’t. “It was my fault.”
Edwin frowned. “Because of the bracelet?”
The Cat King shook his head, swallowing heavily. “Because I told her about hell. I thought- I thought, no sane person would go after someone who survived hell.” He huffed, disgusted with himself, and stared at is knees. “I should have realised that she wasn’t exactly sane, was she?”
Edwin was silent for a long, painful moment. Though it wasn’t painful for him; he was mostly unbothered. “Cat King… how did you know that I’d been in hell?”
The Cat King gave an aborted shake with his head. “My cats picked up something you said, and when you were dragged off and left behind my bracelet, I got confirmation.”
Edwin sighed. “Look at me.” Then he waited until his request was very reluctantly met. “You mean, your cats heard it because I publicly and outdoors and sometimes indoors complained about it?” He licked his lips. “I wasn’t exactly keeping it secret. I was too busy feeling petty about Crystal and trying to outdo her pain.” He tilted his head. “Not my finest moment.”
“I’m sorry, regardless.”
“And I’m sorry for not realising that you’d put yourself in harm’s way when you warned me about Monty. In retrospect, it was rather obvious.”
The Cat King smiled sardonically. “And perhaps it would have occurred to you if I hadn’t been a dick about it.”
Edwin hadn’t expected that and snorted a laugh, which made the Cat King relax a bit again.
“You’re not mad at me because of the bracelet?”
“Oh, yes, the other fine moment of mine where I trapped someone with magic and forced them to do my bidding…” Edwin raised his eyebrows, prompting. “You were well within your rights to punish me accordingly.”
“Alright!” the Cat King gave up and let himself breathe again. “Message received.”
Edwin smirked. “And it gave me more time with you.”
The Cat King laughed. “And that’s why I missed you,” he admitted. “You’re also probably too forgiving for your own good, but, apparently, just enough so for me.” It appeared as if the self-flagellation wasn’t entirely done with.
Edwin rolled his eyes. “Did you ever attempt to actively harm me?” he asked right out.
“No!” The Cat King recoiled from the question alone. “Fuck, no.”
Edwin made a ’there you go’ gesture. “I see now how you’ve been doing,” he said smartly. “You were left alone with your thoughts for too long.”
The Cat King huffed in amusement.
“I know the feeling,” Edwin added quietly.
The Cat King’s tension left him further and only warmth remained. “Still lonely?”
Edwin shrugged uncomfortably. “I probably shouldn’t be.”
“You were the same when you were still alive, weren’t you?”
Edwin nodded, and the Cat King returned the nod.
“A queer boy with a queer soul he was trying to hide until he was killed for it.”
“A very frank assessment,” Edwin noted, then he blinked. “How do you know how I was killed?”
“Ah.” The Cat King cleared his throat as if he was being caught doing something he shouldn’t. “I may have… heard about you meeting the guy who killed you in hell.”
Edwin just stared at him with a slack jaw. “How?” he breathed.
The Cat King looked at him sheepishly.
“There was nobody there-” Edwin froze. “Except there was…” A shiver ran down his spine.
“Yeah,” the Cat King admitted. “But she didn’t tell me personally; I only heard about it second hand, because, and I quote, ’you sure know how to pick ’em’, unquote.”
“What else do you know?” Edwin didn’t know how to feel about that private moment being not as private as he’d thought.
“I don’t know much, just that you were your usual forgiving self and left again.”
Edwin sagged a bit in relief.
“Oh, and that he got to leave too, after you were gone.”
Edwin gasped. “Simon… moved on?”
The Cat King smiled. “He did.”
Edwin didn’t consciously think about his next move, he only realised what he was doing when the Cat King was pressed against him in a tight hug.
He breathed heavily. “Thank you.”
The Cat King returned the hug, though slowly.
“I’m just the messenger.”
Edwin squeezed his eyes shut. “He… Simon, he believed that, people like us, we… deserved-” he choked on the words.
The Cat King pushed Edwin’s head from his shoulder and firmly framed his face. “Tell me you don’t still think that,” he all but demanded.
“I don’t, in fact,” Edwin said, leaving no room for arguments, then he lowered his gaze and moved further back and out of the hold. “But I only managed to truly believe and speak that thought when I saw Simon again.” He met the Cat King’s eyes.
“So, he was good for something, after all, the little fucker,” the Cat King said playfully, trying to cover the anger he felt for the person condemning Edwin to hell.
Edwin smiled. “You helped too, in that regard,” he admitted freely.
The Cat King’s breath hitched, and his eyes practically glowed. “I’ll put that in my resume under accomplishments,” he said glibly, though it was clear that he did think that to be an accomplishment worthy of note.
They both relaxed into their seats again at a more decorous distance.
“Your advances confused me something fierce, back then,” Edwin admitted. “But…” He shook his head. “I’d never noticed that weight on my chest until it was gone.”
“Looks like I was good for something too.”
Edwin tilted his head. “You didn’t seem the modest type when we first met.”
The Cat King smirked. “I’m not, not usually.” He considered that. “You bring out something in me I didn’t think I still had.”
Edwin wore a puzzled expression. “Why?”
“Huh. Haven’t really thought about that.” The Cat King thought about it now. “I guess it’s because you’re… authentic. That seems the right word.” He sighed deeply. “The creatures I have to deal with regularly have at least seven different hidden agendas and intricate webs of plots and lies in the backs of their minds at any given time, and that inspires a certain caution, let us say.”
“Hm,” Edwin made pensively.
“I’ve always needed to hold my cards close to my chest, to keep track of my many secrets and custom lies, because I can’t trust any of them as far as I can throw- Actually,” he suddenly said, “Thomas. You can call me Thomas.”
Edwin blinked at him, his thoughts just having been derailed. “It suits you,” he managed to say.
“And you don’t have to explain yourself to me. You’re a trickster and like playing games and you tend to exaggerate, but I don’t think I’ve caught you outright lying to me.”
Thomas blinked. “I haven’t, actually.”
Edwin nodded, seeing as he’d expected that answer. “I have no reason to believe you to be in any way malicious.”
“There was a dead guy in my throne room when you first came to me,” Thomas pointed out flatly.
“I… always just assumed that he mistreated your cats,” Edwin said. Was it even a question why that man had been dead and fed to a bunch of cats?
“He did,” Thomas confirmed, sounding surprised. “I’m not used to people giving me the benefit of the doubt.”
Edwin straightened in his seat. “Get used to it.”
Thomas looked at him, bemused. “I think the more interesting question isn’t why I’m drawn to you, but why you aren’t exactly displeased by it.”
Edwin bit his lips and looked down for a moment. “I have no reason to be,” he admitted. When he looked up again, Thomas smiled at him.
“By the way,” Thomas changed the topic. “It wasn’t my intention to dig up all the heavy topics when I came here.”
Edwin smiled back. “Now, there’s a question. What was your intention?” he asked curiously.
“Just the usual,” Thomas said playfully. “Me flirting and teasing, and you blushing appealingly and then maybe teasing me back if I was lucky.” He grinned.
Edwin huffed a laugh and shook his head. “Seeing how you heard rumours about Death’s second in command and stories directly from hell, I wonder how you expected this meeting to be only light-hearted.”
“You’ve got a point there. I don’t think I thought this through.” Thomas still smiled. “I was just looking forward to seeing you again. As I have said, my curiosity was not my main motivator.”
He tilted his head, as if he was weighing his options.
“I also have the worst crush on you,” he said with as little intonation as he was able.
Edwin blinked.
“I’m not lying. In case you were wondering.”
Edwin blinked again and shook his head to dissolve the strange buzz in his head. “No, I… didn’t think you were lying. I’m just confused."
“I clearly still know how to do that.”
“And you’re clearly very pleased with yourself,” Edwin replied, amused. He may not have been used to this kind of banter, but he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed it to his own bemusement. It was as if there had been that side inside him all along, and Thomas managed to hit the right cords. He wasn’t sure how much of it came down to his proclivities that could no longer be hidden and that he undeniably shared with Thomas, or if it was something about their personalities that brought out this playful side.
And said playful side bubbled to the surface of its own accord.
“I’m not as confused as I was with Monty, though.”
Thomas looked miffed about being outdone by Monty in any category, making Edwin laugh. Then he realised what else Edwin was implying.
“Why do you think it’s less confusing with me?” he wanted to know, appearing a little puzzled and very intrigued.
Edwin had expected for the spotlight to be turned on him, but now that it was on him, he only managed to shake his head. But, really, he knew why Monty had been different.
Thomas smiled around a little moue. “Could it be because it’s not entirely unrequited? And don’t get me wrong, please,” he added quickly, “I don’t mean that you’ve been pining after me since you left me in that lonely alley, I just seem to remember you responding to my advances...”
Edwin smiled, nervously, shyly. “I definitely didn’t know how to respond to Monty’s,” he said self-deprecatingly. “With you, one part of me wanted to react, if I’m being honest.” He wasn’t sure if that was the right way of describing it.
Thomas’ grinned widely. “I’m flattered.”
Edwin smirked. “Just flattered?”
Thomas laughed. “And optimistic.”
“I guess we are now entering the topic you had planned for us when you came here.”
“And you forewent the blushing and went straight to teasing.” He gave a serious nod. “Impressive.” Then he felt the need to backtrack.
“I didn’t exactly plan for any of what I said, not really. Frankly, I expected you to not be alone and me having to somehow deter Charles from throwing me out the window. I also thought that I would have to first convince you to maybe visit me some time.”
“I’m exceeding your expectations,” Edwin summarised.
Thomas grinned. “You always do.”
Edwin thought about how to reply to that. He took a deep breath. “I am enjoying this visit, and I would like there to be another.”
Thomas’ grin softened, and he had to let the comment settle before he could reply. “That’s good to hear.”
Edwin pulled a face. “But you’re right, and Charles is going to need some convincing.” He already thought about what kind of tactic would be most helpful with his best friend, but he was also convinced that Charles would listen to him, at least eventually. “I suppose that hiding our association again would be a bad idea.”
“Hm,” Thomas agreed.
Edwin breathed out forcefully and straightened. “Well, since all the cards are on the table between Charles and me, there is no more reason to hide,” he decided.
“You also looked at your cards, which is even more important,” Thomas pointed out.
Edwin smiled downright happily. “I quite like them too,” he said proudly. And he was quite proud of that fact. The truth really did feel better.
Thomas pointed at him. “And that’s what I saw inside you when we first met. It was admittedly buried well, but it was there.”
“Perhaps your methods for coaxing it out could do with some work,” Edwin quipped.
“Well, maybe,” Thomas agreed, “but then, I may have come on a bit strong,” he leaned closer into Edwin’s personal space and lowered his voice, “but you responded to my proximity like a flower to the sun, every time.”
Edwin sighed deeply, and he had to force his eyes to stay open. Flower, indeed. “I am not denying that, but I didn’t know what was going on with me or what to do with it.”
“Mhm,” Thomas agreed. “But you also can’t deny that it brought me here, and you have not jumped off the couch to clutch your Edwardian pearls in indignation.”
They were so close, Edwin could see every speck and swirl of colour in those mesmerising eyes. If he could have, he would have felt Thomas’ breath against his skin, but Edwin knew that, even though he couldn’t feel the breath, he had always felt the touches, and he knew he would be able to feel the lips against his. He’d stopped breathing and didn’t even notice.
Daringly, he reached out to cup Thomas’ cheek. He had to smile when Thomas’ eyes fell closed and he leaned into the touch.
“I am not the only one responding,” he whispered, then he murmured: “You made a claim about second kisses once.” He couldn’t believe he’d just said that, but they were so close, and it wasn’t enough.
Thomas breathed in sharply and opened his eyes. His pupils were dilated.
“Would you mind if I tested that?”
“God, you’re cheeky. Did you seriously just ask me that?”
Edwin grinned and closed the gap, taking the ramblings as a ’no, I don’t mind, please kiss me and don’t stop’. And the moment their lips touched, he didn’t want to stop either. He also could no longer deny just how well he responded. He all but melted into the gentle contact, his arms wrapping around Thomas when he felt strong arms wrap around him in return.
Edwin hummed into the kiss, letting himself explore with little nips. The hum turned into a whimper when Thomas introduced their tongues to the exploration.
Thomas slowly ended the kiss but barely moved away from Edwin’s lips. “I think I proved my claim.”
Edwin was too dazed to respond to the quip and merely licked his lips. “This is utterly wonderful,” he said dreamily.
Thomas smiled at him with all his heart in his eyes. “Some more?” he asked, and Edwin’s ’mhm’ of consent seamlessly turned into a hum of pleasure into the next kiss.
Edwin’s world spun pleasantly as they continued their lazy kisses, enjoyed the proximity, and both decided that this had definitely been something worth waiting for. Not that either of them had wanted to wait any more, evidently.
Edwin didn’t have any more questions or worries or even just thoughts, and if he’d had the thoughts to think it, he would have been surprised that this kind of mindlessness was pleasurable to the core to someone as cerebral as him.
Thomas’ kisses weren’t demanding, they were just bone-melting, and the man gave himself over to this shared pleasure easily, willingly.
They only occasionally broke their kisses to briefly open their eyes to slits and see if they were still on the same page, only to then come together again when it was obvious that there was only one page for them to be on.
Accordingly, someone clearing their throat startled them something fierce. They broke their kiss but stayed close, their embrace loosening but not letting go entirely.
Edwin’s eyes first fell on Crystal who had apparently cleared her throat and was now standing there with a cheeky expression and crossed arms. Then there was Charles who… looked like he wanted to put his backpack to good use.
Edwin modified his body language from tense to comfortable, tilted towards Thomas and took his hand, hoping that Charles would get the message.
“Are you here early?” he finally asked.
“Actually, we’re here late,” Crystal answered, way too amused. “We went for a walk after the movie.”
Now what? “Uh…” Edwin had felt wrong-footed before, but this was definitely at the top of the list. “You remember the Cat King?” he said awkwardly.
“Thomas,” corrected Thomas.
Edwin looked at him, surprised, and Thomas smiled back before facing Charles and Crystal again.
“To friends.”
Charles’ grip on his backpack tightened. “You are not my friend,” he growled, his glare hard as steel.
“I can see that,” Thomas said (already pissed off) and visibly held himself back from reacting more strongly. He pursed his lips and then leaned closer to Edwin to whisper in his ear.
“I think it’s time you brought me to the door.”
Edwin automatically tightened his hold, not wanting their moment to end.
“Hey!” Charles barked.
Yeah, their moment was over. Edwin bit his lips and shared a soft look with Thomas.
“Alright,” he said lowly, and they both stood. Edwin faced Charles and positioned himself in front of Thomas, just to be sure. “I’ll go see him off,” he said.
“He’s not taking you anywhere.”
Now that the daze had lifted, Edwin slowly grew angry. He didn’t like the implication that he was unable to take care of himself and make his own decisions.
“It wasn’t a request,” he stated firmly. “I’ll talk to you when I get back,” he added slightly more softly. When that still did not appear to appease Charles, he faced Crystal. “You seem to have a better grasp of the situation. Could you please talk to him in the meantime?”
“I’ll try…” Crystal said, not sounding confident, but when Edwin took Thomas by the hand and headed for the door, she called after them: “Bye, Thomas.”
Thomas turned around to grin at her. “See you around.”
“The hell you will!” Charles protested, but when he was about to just follow Edwin and Thomas, Crystal held him back.
Once the office door was closed, Edwin could still hear her.
“Just let Edwin say goodbye to his boyfriend, and then you can have a chat.”
Edwin tried to not hear Charles’ reply, but the loud, “What the hell, Crystal?” couldn’t be missed. He didn’t stop until they were outside and closed the front door behind themselves.
“That’s what I expected when I came here,” Thomas commented glibly, making Edwin snort and roll his eyes. “Edwin…” he then started hesitantly. “I have no intention of getting between you two, because I know damn well that I’d lose if I so much as tried-”
“What are you talking about?” Edwin interrupted him. “There is no between.” He frowned. “I’m sure you’ll agree that what I have with Charles and what I have with you- I mean, what we are building- or attempting- Oh, stop laughing!”
Thomas of course laughed just a little more before he framed Edwin’s face and kissed him. “I got it.”
“Anyway, it’s not the same, is it?”
“I should hope not.” Thomas snickered again at Edwin’s huffy expression, then he sobered. “What I was trying to say was that Charles is… going to take some work.”
“I’ll talk him around. You don’t have to concern yourself with that.”
“On the contrary, I should absolutely concern myself with that,” Thomas contradicted. “Charles has a very specific image of me in his head, which is admittedly my fault and was by design, and while I’m sure your words when talking him around will be very flattering, I’m the one who is going to have to change my image.”
He took Edwin’s hand in his, keeping his eyes on their hands instead of Edwin’s face. “I’m kind of flying blind here; it’s not like me to try and… fight for someone.” He shook his head. “At least not in a long while. I-” He didn’t know how to continue.
“I understand,” Edwin said, and he smiled when Thomas returned his look. “I think,” he added ruefully. “This is foreign territory for me as well, though probably for different reasons.”
“Slightly different,” Thomas agreed jokingly.
“And I’m sure I’ll be able to manage Charles.”
“It’s going to be unpleasant.”
Edwin grimaced, making Thomas huff a laugh.
“Because, as I said, there is no him or me. There is only him and me, if I’m supposed to be a part of the equation.”
“And I refuse to settle for anything less,” Edwin declared his willingness to fight.
Thomas smiled. “Then I guess it’ll be worth it,” he said, pulling Edwin into a kiss.
“You’ve… actually thought about this, haven’t you?” Edwin asked.
Thomas took a deep breath. “Yeah, when I dare to hope a little.” He smiled. “And I always knew that Charles is important to you.” His mouth twisted. “I admittedly don’t like to think about him, but I kind of had to. You’re a matched set, as I am well aware.” He shrugged. “I’ve had the time to fantasise about this scenario – I honestly thought it would take a lot more fantasising before we got here – so it’s fine. I just don’t like coming second.”
Edwin narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re not standing in a queue, and I’m no ticket booth.”
Thomas spluttered a laugh, shook his head incredulously, and kissed Edwin instead of replying to that.
“When will I see you again?” Edwin asked against Thomas’ lips.
“Let’s make it soon, yeah?”
Edwin nodded.
“And we’re going to have to find a way to communicate.”
Edwin pondered that. “I think I have an idea.”
Thomas grinned. “My smart detective.”
“I’ll make sure it gets to you,” Edwin said, already looking forward to showing off his skill. “But if something goes wrong, feel free to drop by.”
“Likewise.”
They shared a long look, both realising that this night had not gone as they’d expected, then it had got quite wonderful, and now, it was unfortunately coming to an end.
They kissed one more time, before Thomas winked and disappeared.
Edwin took a deep breath and looked up the front of the building. He did not look forward to the impending discussion. “It will be worth it,” he repeated Thomas’ words. “It’s already worth it.”
He went back inside and up the stairs.
Charles and Crystal were still arguing inside, though they were keeping their voices down.
Edwin took a deep breath and phased through the door.
Charles stopped arguing immediately and took a few frantic steps towards Edwin.
“Tell me he made you do this,” he all but demanded.
Edwin froze. Charles couldn’t possibly have meant what this sounded like.
“Have you stopped to think about what you just said?” he forced out, his stomach twisting itself into a giant knot.
“Of course I did.” Charles looked confused.
“So you’re saying it would be preferable that he has forced himself on me, rather than me being with him of my own free will?”
“That’s not what I’m saying!” Charles protested. “But if you think you were kissing him because you wanted to, that means that he somehow made you think it!”
For a long moment, Edwin couldn’t even move. Thomas had been right, Charles had a very specific image of the Cat King in his mind, and it was apparently much worse than Edwin had assumed.
“Charles,” he tried to say calmly, “he came to visit me, I was very happy about that, we talked a lot, eventually we kissed, and I will see him again. That’s all there is to it.”
Charles’ frenzy slowly melted into a deep panic. “Mate,” he said breathlessly, “this is not like you. You must see that.”
Edwin crossed his arms. “What happened to, ’you could have told me you liked him,’ hm?”
“That’s not the same thing!”
“You’re right,” Edwin agreed. “Monty actively lured us into a trap.”
“He made up for it! He helped us in the end.”
“So did Thomas,” Edwin snapped back, and he would have to find a way to calm down. Fighting with Charles wouldn’t help. “Honestly, the only difference between the two is that I’m only interested in one of them, and you apparently hate that one.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange that you’re suddenly interested in him when he shows up again?”
Edwin smiled a sardonic little smile. “There was interest before, and now I’d really like to see where it goes.”
Charles tried several times to reply to that, but no words were ever formed. He shook his head and stared at the floor.
“I need to get out of here,” he stated and rushed past Edwin and out the room.
It was quiet until Crystal piped up.
“I kind of want to go after him, but I think I should talk to you first.”
Edwin sighed deeply, strode across the room, and dropped into his chair. Thomas had sat there earlier. He had to smile.
“Charles won’t go far,” was what he said. And Charles really wouldn’t go far; he probably waited for Crystal just outside.
Crystal walked closer to the desk. “You’re sure that the- Thomas didn’t do anything to mess with your mind?”
Edwin sent her a look. “You’ve met with him once without me there, haven’t you?” he asked and waited for her nod. “Do you really think he’d be the type to do that to a… romantic interest?”
“No,” Crystal admitted. “And the kissing earlier didn’t exactly look one-sided.”
Edwin smiled.
Crystal made a frustrated sound. “This is going to get messy. You’re as bad as each other when things change.”
Edwin thought about that. “I like to think I got better in that respect.”
Crystal rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, in a way, he’s actually worse than you.” She held Edwin’s eyes with hers. “You’re sure about this? That you want it?”
“Yes,” Edwin said with certainty. “And even if I wasn’t sure, I believe I’d deserve the chance to figure it out.” He licked his lips. “There are still many things to discover, and I… want that.”
“Alright,” Crystal conceded, smiling. “That’s all I needed to know. I’m gonna,” she pointed at the door, “go looking for Charles. See if I can talk some sense into him.”
“It will take time.”
“Yeah. But you’re right. You deserve this.”
Edwin smiled as Crystal left. Then he decided that he had some research to do to make communication across the Atlantic more feasible without a telephone. It wouldn’t be a problem, he was sure. Hand mirrors seemed like a good idea.
By the time he heard his friends return, he had already found the right spell that only needed a little modification and had applied it to two foldable hand mirrors. Satisfied, he looked from one to the other and saw that both the mirrors’ images were projected on to their respective counterpart, which they wouldn’t have done had they been ordinary mirrors, what with Edwin not having a reflection. Now, he only needed to find the right incantation that a mirror user would be able to let the holder of the other mirror know that they were supposed to open it.
Charles marched through the office door; Crystal had to open it and follow, and her frustrated expression did not inspire confidence.
Edwin pocketed the two mirrors. “You don’t look like you’ve calmed down,” he told Charles.
“He did something to you,” Charles insisted.
Edwin sighed deeply but held himself back from rolling his eyes.
“No, don’t even try that!” Charles snapped. “That first time we met him, you were gone for hours, and he did something to you.”
Edwin rubbed the bridge of his nose. “As I have told you, many times, I only spent a short time with him; it was only hours for you.” Charles was about to protest with something including memory alteration, Edwin was sure, so he continued: “In retrospect, it is clear that the room he took me to was a pocket dimension of sorts, similar to your backpack. And he is a magic user who is definitely capable of bending time in a pocket dimension of his creation to his liking.”
Charles was clearly looking for holes he could poke in Edwin’s story.
“We talked about my transgression and the punishment he chose,” Edwin continued. “He was admittedly salacious and made his interest quite clear, but as soon as he noticed my discomfort, he gave me my task of counting cats.” He let that sink in for a second. “And it was quick, just like I always said.”
Charles still looked like a volcano ready to erupt. “So, what? He told you he’d take off the bracelet if he gets you in bed?”
“Hm.” Edwin tilted his head. “He suggested I make him happy in return for his taking off the bracelet.”
“I knew it!”
Edwin thought that was a bit strong of a claim, given that Charles had a whole laundry list of potential transgressions that the Cat King could have committed, and this was the only one so far that seemed to land a hit.
“He took back that offer immediately and never mentioned it again, not even when my first guess for the cats was wrong.”
Charles remained adamant. “He is manipulating you, using you, and when he is done with you, he’ll throw you away.”
Edwin leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, counting backwards from ten in his head.
“And my observation, my view, and my opinion do not count, do they?”
“Not when they’ve been manipulated.”
Edwin narrowed his eyes and then looked at Crystal. “Do I appear mind controlled to you?”
Crystal sent Charles an apologetic look before answering Edwin’s question. “No, you don’t.” Then she quickly added for Charles: “He really doesn’t.”
“This is not the Edwin I know,” Charles insisted.
This gave Edwin an idea. “The Edwin you know does not like getting emotional, does not want to talk about feelings, and does not seek out a potential partner. He would stutter, change the topic, redirect attention, and would absolutely not address emotional desires directly. Is that about right?”
Charles blinked and then nodded. “Yes.”
Edwin licked his lips and softened his voice. “But you know that this was already changing, don’t you?”
The implication visibly caught up with Charles.
And Edwin felt very much like the old Edwin in that moment. He wanted to avert his eyes, wanted to change the topic, wanted to distract by reminding Charles of when Crystal had come to them. But he did none of that.
“Thomas’ offer back then, his… advances were what made me start to think about who I am and what I feel. It gave me the courage to talk to you when we were escaping hell. And right now, it helps me fight the urge to go hide in a library and never talk about any of this ever again, because I am learning about the things I want.”
Charles looked sick. “But it can’t be him.”
“I’m afraid that’s not your choice to make.”
“And what if it’s not yours, either? What if it’s his doing?”
Edwin leaned forward and folded his hands on the desk. “I can’t help but notice that you’re only ever talking about him,” he noted. “Look me in the eyes and tell me I’m not in my right mind,” he demanded.
Charles did so for a moment, then he averted his eyes.
“If you don’t want to give him a chance, give it to me,” Edwin added.
Charles peeked at him.
“Or do you really want to be right about him that badly? Badly enough that you’d rather be right than see me happy?”
“Not fair, mate. Of course I want to see you happy.”
“Then trust my judgement.”
Charles squeezed his eyes closed for several seconds. “Just… keep him out of my way,” he eventually gave in, though his words didn’t inspire confidence.
Edwin remembered Thomas saying that he should be involved, and he kind of saw his point, but perhaps they should wait a bit before any more involvement.
It turned out to be quite tricky to get the second mirror to Thomas. Edwin had hoped to come up with a more elegant solution, but, in the end, he had to deliver it personally that day. He had to sneak out.
He only managed to get in a few kisses and a few words, including the ones that discouraged Thomas to drop by in London too frequently and/or unannounced.
He also only barely made it home before Charles walked back into the office, none the wiser, luckily.
“I think he needs to see for himself that I’m me and that I’m not being controlled,” Edwin had told Thomas. He also thought that the mirrors would annoy and frustrate Charles enough, for the time being.
He smiled a bit when he thought about his mirror in his pocket and how easy it would be to see and hear Thomas whenever he wanted. He would also see him again in person soon. Both he and Thomas had reluctantly agreed that it made sense to discreetly employ Crystal to help Edwin slip out unnoticed.
Though Edwin didn’t like that plan very much. Yes, as the situation presented itself, it was probably necessary, but he didn’t want to drive a wedge between Charles and Crystal, so he would keep it to a minimum. He would find other ways.
And he would find ways. It was new and exciting and all kinds of wonderful, and the way Thomas looked at him was- It made his heart flutter.
This was such a mess, which made Edwin angry, because he wanted to be happy and explore this new side to him, and he wanted his friends to be happy with him.
“Edwin?”
Edwin blinked and looked up. “Hm?”
“I’ve been calling your name twice,” Charles said suspiciously.
“I’m a tad distracted,” Edwin said with a bit more bite than intended. “I just had my first, as you would call it, ’proper snog’,” he made air quotes and everything, “so I don’t believe it’s all that surprising.”
Charles bit his lips and stared at his feet.
“Charles…”
“No, it’s fine. I get it. I don’t want to talk about it.”
’But I do,’ Edwin thought. Given the look Crystal sent him, she saw that thought in his expression clearly. She then smiled, telling him without words that she would lend an ear as soon as she could.
“We have work to do,” Edwin said, clinging to his calm and detached centre that appeared to not be quite at the centre, really, all things considered.
And so it went. And went.
As expected, Charles hated the hand mirror, so Edwin hid it whenever he could.
Crystal tried to coax Charles to go out with her, as they had before, and sometimes she managed, but Charles’ suspicion and worry were a constant companion.
Edwin managed to sneak out often enough, but it remained sneaking. Port Townsend became a kind of alternate reality for him, and he both loved and hated it.
The day he and Thomas made love for the first time, Edwin was startled to notice that he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but he and Charles got into an argument, and he could only briefly and in passing tell Crystal about it. She was happy for him, but the situation remained strained.
Eventually, even the relationship between Charles and Crystal started to suffer, and Edwin felt like he was torn in two. He missed Charles, and he missed Crystal, even though they were right there, every day.
He went to Port Townsend to forget all about that, and it was probably not a good sign, but he no longer knew what to do.
Then he dragged Thomas into it, their young love marred by pain that had no right to exist in the first place.
They’d spent the night making love, and Thomas had fallen asleep, only to be woken by Edwin crying.
Thomas held Edwin until he calmed down, but being held so closely, Edwin missed the determined look in Thomas’ eyes.
“Got your message,” Thomas said when he appeared at his destination.
“Right.” Crystal turned around from where she’d been looking out the window of the Dead Boy Detective Agency. “We don’t have much time. I told the guys I needed a nap, but they won’t be out for long.”
“I’m not breaking up with him,” Thomas said pre-emptively, emphatically. “I can’t let him go. I- I can’t. I’m not that selfless.”
Crystal looked at him with entirely too much sympathy. “I wasn’t going to ask you.”
Thomas wasn’t sure he believed her. The situation was getting painful. ’The situation’ being him and Edwin falling in love, which wasn’t supposed to be ’a situation’ in the first place! At least not this kind.
“Even if you did the noble thing or some crap, Edwin would never forgive Charles. He might not say it out loud or actively hold it against him, but the damage will be done, and I don’t want to see that happen.” She took a deep breath. “And I don’t want to see Edwin lose you either. You make him happy.”
Thomas was decidedly unhappy. “I have to do something, but I don’t know what else I can do. He’s hurting.”
“He’s also kind of not doing anything either. I think he still believes that if he just waits, Charles will see the light.”
Thomas did not like what he was hearing, but then again, this aligned with the thought he’d had from the very beginning of this fragile new love. All this pointed in the same direction.
“It has to be me,” he said, resigned.
“It has to be you,” Crystal agreed. “He has to see you as a person and not this boogeyman in his imagination.”
Thomas crossed his arms morosely. “You so sure that I’m that much better than the boogeyman?”
Crystal smiled at him. “Self-flagellation doesn’t suit you.”
Thomas glared at her angrily. “You didn’t hold Edwin while he was crying his heart out.”
Crystal’s smile dropped. “It’s actually that bad?”
“Yeah, it’s actually that bad.”
“Shit,” she hissed. “I should have done something sooner,” she muttered. “Look, it’s going to be okay, okay? We’re going to make it okay. I’ll help.” She bit her lips. “I’d kind of promised myself I’d stay out of it, but this shit is untenable.” She looked at him. “You’re going to try to talk to Charles first, and if that doesn’t work, I’m going to yell at him for a bit, preferably in front of Edwin, so he can’t deny the pain he’s in.”
Thomas didn’t like the image of that hypothetical situation. “That sounds like an awful plan.”
“More awful than what’s going on now?” she volleyed back. “I guess you’re just going to have to be really, really convincing, then…”
Thomas huffed. “I don’t know how to get through to Charles. I barely know him.”
Crystal pondered that. “You know the important thing. You both love Edwin.”
Thomas’ head was spinning. “How am I even going to get him alone?”
“I’ll take care of that. I managed today, didn’t I? I’m just going to need a way to contact you, and you’re going to have to react immediately when I tell you that the coast is clear.”
Thomas felt that determination flare up again, the one he’d felt when he’d held Edwin and just knew that he couldn’t let things go on like this. He supposed he’d just not known that he would need someone in his corner, and he was kind of ridiculously thankful for Crystal in that moment.
“Use this,” he said, and a coin appeared between his fingers with a lick of purple flame. He handed it to her. “The moment Charles is alone in this office or about to return, you press down the middle of the coin.” He took a fortifying breath. “I’ll be here.”
Crystal looked at the coin and then at Thomas and put the coin in her pocket. She sighed. “Come here,” she said and pulled Thomas into a hug, not waiting for an answer. He went without protest.
“I’ve never seen you like this,” she admitted.
Thomas briefly closed his eyes. “I’ve never seen me like this. At least not in… centuries. If ever.”
Crystal pushed him at arm’s length, her hands on his shoulders, her expression warm. “It’ll turn out alright, this time. I promise.”
“Guess I have to believe you.”
“Believe in Edwin too. He may not have figured out how to handle Charles in that state, but if it came down to it, he would fight tooth and nail to keep you.”
Thomas smiled just barely. “I know.” He did know that. But the next step was still up to him.
Like that first day when he’d visited Edwin, Thomas was waiting in the office of the Dead Boy Detective Agency, only this time – and as planned – he was not waiting for Edwin, and he was not sitting. He was pacing up and down behind the desk.
He didn’t exactly hear the ghost come up the stairs, but he could feel him approach, and when Charles entered the office, Thomas straightened, determined.
“We need to talk.”
Charles froze and his expression went thunderous in an instant. “I have nothing to say to you.” He was about to turn around and leave again, but Thomas wouldn’t let him.
“I held Edwin for two hours the other night while he was crying!” he yelled.
Charles swivelled back. “What the hell did you do?”
“I didn’t-” Thomas squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and took a deep breath. He’d known that he would be blamed; he just had to keep going. “He wants his friend back,” he said, and he hated how his voice broke. “This is hurting him, and I am not leaving this office until we sort this out.”
“Fine. So leave for good. That’ll sort things out.”
“Oh, so you can hold him while he cries because he misses his boyfriend?” Thomas snapped sarcastically.
“You’re not his boyfriend; you’re just messing with his head.”
“I love him,” Thomas said plainly. It would not be believed, at least not just then, but he had to say it.
Charles scoffed, but Thomas ignored it.
“I fell in love so goddamn easily, it terrified me, and you’re not exactly making this easy, and I still wouldn’t change a thing.”
Charles shook his head. “And I’m supposed to believe that a trickster like you falls in love at the drop of a hat.”
“Don’t act like you don’t know what that’s like,” Thomas shot back.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, you may not be in love with him, but you love him, and you decided to become a fugitive of the afterlife to stay with him within hours of having met him.” He breathed heavily. “You know he is special. You felt it from the start, just like me.”
“It won’t matter how special he is though, will it?”
“What?” This time, Thomas really didn’t know what he could have said wrong.
“The moment you got what you wanted, you’ll dump him anyway,” Charles insisted.
Thomas’ eyes flashed angrily. “And, pray tell, what is it that I want?”
“You just want to get him in bed!”
Thomas took a deep breath. “Then why the fuck am I still here?” he growled. He probably shouldn’t have said it like that. He almost certainly should not have said it like that.
All the fight left Charles in a second, and he looked sick. “You didn’t,” he breathed.
“For a month, actually. Which you would know, if you’d let him talk to you about me.”
Charles shook his head, in shock or panic or both.
“Quit that!” Thomas snapped. “You didn’t let him down or slack off in your best friend duties or whatever for letting that happen. It was never up to you in the first place.”
“You’re just going to hurt him,” Charles said in a small voice, and tiny fleck of hope flared up in Thomas’ chest. It wasn’t much, but Charles seemed to finally react to something.
“No, I won’t,” Thomas contradicted earnestly, passionately. He walked around the desk and came to a halt two paces from Charles. He thought about putting his hands on his shoulders, but that would probably go too far. “I mean,” he amended, “I guess no one can give any guarantees, but hurting him is the last thing I want to do, and, quite frankly, now it’s you who’s hurting him.”
Charles’ eyes watered. “I would never hurt him. I just thought it would be easier to get rid of you now, instead of you doing it later.” He rubbed his eyes and breathed out. “It’s… not going to happen, is it?”
Thomas all but groaned in relief. “Oh, thank fuck. No, it’s not.” He could see the realisation hit Charles, and much as he would have enjoyed seeing him squirm back in the day, they did both love Edwin, and Thomas wanted Edwin to have everything.
“Don’t go there,” he said. “I mean, yeah, you should have listened to him, but I’m definitely to blame for the image you had of me.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Charles asked angrily, still overwhelmed with mostly negative emotions.
“When we first met, you were disrespectful, annoyed the fuck out of me, and I was jealous,” Thomas said frankly. “So I let you stew for a few hours, and your imagination did the rest.” He licked his lips, somewhat contrite. “I didn’t expect it to work quite this well.” He released a sharp breath. “I’m sorry, Charles.” He only had to swallow a little bit of pride to get himself to say that.
“It’s not me you have to apologise to!”
“You think I haven’t apologised to Edwin a dozen times over?” Thomas asked calmly.
Two tears ran down Charles’ cheeks, and he brushed them away. “SHIT!” practically exploded out of him. He rasped and got right in Thomas’ face, pointing at him.
“If you ever do hurt him, I- Just don’t!”
Thomas spread his hands in a sign of peace. “If I hurt him, I’ll let you do whatever you want to my remaining lives,” he said. “Alright?”
Charles looked like he was about ready to climb the walls, but he had to make do with pacing frantically and cursing under his breath.
Thomas would have preferred a slightly calmer Charles, but this was already worlds better than when he’d arrived.
“We good?” he had to ask.
“I really messed up, haven’t I?” Charles whispered.
“Oh, fuck, no, we’re not doing that,” Thomas protested. “Listen, it’s fine, right? It’s gonna be fine.” Charles returned the look but had a hard time believing the words. “Can you imagine?” Thomas continued, now that this newly found hope sent him all kinds of lovely images. “Can you imagine Edwin come in through that door,” he pointed at the door, his imagination painting the picture clearly, “and see us talk? No yelling, no fighting, just talking?” He couldn’t see himself, but he was certain that he must have been beaming. Oh, how he wanted to see Edwin like that; he yearned for it. “The way he’ll-” Now, he had to brush away tears. “Aw, crap.”
Charles looked at the door, apparently imagining what Thomas had said, and there was the hint of a smile.
“We good?” Thomas asked again and grinned widely when Charles returned the look and the smile, though both were still reluctant. “We are good. Fucking finally!” He pumped both his fists, didn’t give Charles the chance to react, marched up to him, and smacked a loud kiss on his cheek.
“Euch,” Charles just said, but he didn’t push Thomas away.
“Okay,” Thomas said readily, stepped back with his hands behind his back, still grinning.
“And he-” Charles was still fighting for his composure. “He loves you too? He told you so?”
Thomas’ smile softened. “He does. And he did. Often, in fact.”
Charles calmed down some more and studied Thomas intently. Really looked, this time.
“You’re the least trustworthy person I’ve ever seen,” was his verdict, but he sounded neither angry nor accusing, just kind of accepting.
“What can I say?” Thomas said playfully, his head buzzing with relief.
“As long as I can trust you with Edwin.”
“He’s in the best of hands.”
Charles rolled his eyes.
“I’m serious.”
“Yeah, no, I-” Charles bit his lips. “I can see that.”
Thomas’ eyes lit up.
Charles averted his eyes. “I’m going to be proper angry with myself for a while.”
Thomas shrugged. “As long as you leave room for being happy for Edwin, that’s fine. For a while.”
“Still don’t like you,” Charles grouched.
“That’s fine too.”
Charles huffed a laugh, and the two shared a look of cautious understanding.
Then they heard the front door downstairs.
Thomas’ smile widened. “Someone is going to be very happy…” he predicted, and Charles clearly agreed with him.
The office door opened, and Crystal entered first, freezing mid-step for a second to assess the situation, before she came in further.
“Oh. Hey, Thomas,” she feigned surprise.
Edwin rushed past her when he heard that, taking in the scene as well, worry etched into his features. Then the worry faded, bit by bit, and he had to swallow past the lump in his throat.
“Charles?” he asked, still looking from Charles to Thomas and back, a skittish smile on his face.
“I, uh, guess we should talk,” Charles said. “Only, I’m getting the feeling that you snuck out whenever I went out with Crystal, so I guess you have a date tonight.”
Edwin nodded.
“Tomorrow, then,” Charles concluded.
Edwin let go of every other thought for the moment and rushed over to Charles to pull him into a fierce hug.
“I’m sorry,” Charles whispered.
Edwin just shook his head against Charles’ shoulder and released a shuddering breath. Finally, slowly, he ended the hug, and his eyes found Charles’ in gratitude. Charles returned to look more steadily than he had in months.
They reluctantly let go, but there was still Thomas, and it was obvious what had happened. Edwin moved towards his boyfriend.
“I guess you were right.”
“I’m a smart guy,” Thomas quipped.
“And ever so modest.”
Thomas grinned and guided Edwin into a chaste if loving kiss, then they hugged too.
“I can’t believe you came here,” Edwin whispered.
“Anything for you,” Thomas said, and he meant it. He felt like he could breathe again; he could only imagine how Edwin felt. “It’s going to be okay now.” He closed his eyes and leaned into Edwin, smiling and holding him tenderly. Nothing else mattered. It was going to be okay.
But while Thomas’ eyes were closed, Charles’ were open and, for the first time, truly looked at them as a couple. Then he had to avert his eyes again, because the truth was so painfully obvious, now that he could make himself see it, he-
“Don’t,” Crystal whispered to Charles. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Charles bit his lips. “It was my fault, and-”
“It was Thomas’ fault too, and now he did something about it, and you actually listened.” Her eyes bore into his. “Alright?” she added for emphasis.
Edwin and Thomas were still in each other’s arms, but they now looked at Charles too.
“It is going to be alright,” Edwin said, and Thomas looked at him with so much love in his eyes, it made Charles want to kick himself.
“And I do want to talk to you. Really talk to you.”
Charles smiled sheepishly. “Do me the courtesy of giving me a moment to come to terms with the fact that I’ve been a huge dick-”
“Charles…”
“No, let me finish. I’ve been clinging to this… image or feeling that I had, and I’m going to need a moment to work through it, okay?”
“Charles,” Thomas redirected his attention, “I very carefully made that image. You saw me exactly once, and I was…” He was trying to find the right word to describe what exactly he’d been doing.
“You were posturing,” Edwin completed helpfully.
“Rude.”
“But true.”
“Fine!” Charles said, barely able to hold back his smile at the double act. “What I’m trying to say is that you should just get the hell out and on your date, and let me sort myself out.” He raised his eyebrows at Edwin. “Alright? We’ll talk when you get back.” He bit his lips. “Just as long as you’re okay.”
“I am now,” Edwin simply said.
“And that’s my cue,” Thomas said. “Time to leave.”
Edwin’s eyes darted to him. “You can’t just-”
Charles and Crystal didn’t hear whatever else Edwin had been trying to say, as both he and Thomas disappeared in a burst of magic flames.
Crystal snorted. “Well, he’s definitely a dick too, but Edwin loves him.”
Charles tried to release some of his tension and rubbed his face.
“You okay?”
Charles didn’t know how to answer that. He wanted to nod, but it ended up looking more like a shake of his head, which just made his head waggle.
“Not just yet,” he admitted.
“Right…” Crystal said, then she took him by an arm and urged him over to the sofa. “Come and sit down.”
Charles let himself be moved around and flopped onto the sofa, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees and his head hanging.
Crystal sat next to him and let him gather his thoughts.
“I…” Charles eventually said, but it took a while before more words followed, “… wonder if it really was just about… Thomas,” saying the name felt strange, “or if I just couldn’t accept that Edwin wanted to let someone else into his life, which would make me a right hypocrite, because I decided for both of us to let you stick around, didn’t I?”
“Well, he’d definitely understand that, then, wouldn’t he?”
Charles tilted his head to look at her. “He didn’t behave like I did, though. Not even close.”
Crystal shrugged. “Maybe he would have if he’d known what kind of person I was before I met you guys.” She bit her lips.
Charles breathed out. He didn’t know what to say to that.
“Isn’t it enough that we’re all kind of messed up and trying to navigate… all this?”
Charles smiled a bit, but it faded quickly. “I really hurt him.”
Crystal put an arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. “But he gets to be really happy now.” She thought for a moment. “I also think that both Edwin and Thomas profited from being forced to look at how serious they both are about their relationship.”
Charles let that thought set. “They’re really serious, aren’t they?”
“To be fair, I don’t think Edwin knows how to do casual.”
Charles started to say something, then thought better of it, then said it anyway: “I always thought that Thomas definitely seems the casual type.” He shrugged. “But that might just have been my view.”
“No, I think he usually is. So it’s doubly important that he saw that he was ready to fight for this one.” She frowned and lifted her head. “You didn’t actually fight, though, right?”
“We… argued. Loudly.”
Crystal smiled, amused. “What made you change your mind?”
“He…” Charles licked his lips. “I had that one expectation, and he kind of threw that overboard.”
Crystal nodded encouragingly, and Charles sighed, deflating.
“I was so sure that Edwin would be dumped as soon as Thomas got him in bed.”
“Ah. Yeah, that didn’t happen.”
“Hearing that was a punch in the gut.” He pulled a face. “I guess I really was jealous. Not like that,” he added. “Just… that there was someone.” He sighed. “You knew? About the sex thing?”
Crystal straightened a bit. “Yeah, I knew. I mean, I didn’t know much. Edwin didn’t want to set you off, and he and I didn’t really have a lot of time to have chats without you around, but I knew when it happened for the first time and that Edwin was happy about it.”
Charles made a disgusted sound. “I’m such an asshole.”
“Let it all out,” Crystal said both supportingly and glibly. “Because Edwin is not going to want to hear such talk.”
“I never wanted to hurt him,” Charles said miserably.
“He knows.”
“I’m going to have to grovel, won’t I?”
Crystal snorted. “Hardly. You know he doesn’t want that.” She tilted her head in contemplation. “You could get to know Thomas better though.”
Charles peeked at her.
“I mean, I don’t know him that well either, but I have a feeling that you’ll like him.”
Charles narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You already like him.”
Crystal shrugged. “I might be on my way there. He’s fun.” She bumped her shoulder against Charles’. “Just cut yourself and Thomas some slack, and Edwin will be happy as a clam.”
Charles sat up, leaned back, and crossed his arms. He smirked a bit. “As soon as Edwin’s got used to all this, I’m never going to hear the end of it.” He looked supremely unbothered by that fact.
Crystal patted his shoulder. “Take it like a man.”
Charles grinned. That he could do.
Despite the rosy outlook and the time Charles had had to let the dust settle, he was nervous when he waited for Edwin to come home. Crystal had thought she’d better not be around for at least a while. The first talk should be between the dead boy detectives. They would probably need it.
And then Edwin stepped out of the mirror, instinctively turning towards the sofa where Charles was expecting him. “Hello, Charles.”
Despite his nerves, Charles smiled at him. “Hey. Good night?”
The shift in Edwin’s face was minute but definitely there.
Charles pulled a face. “That was weird, wasn’t it?”
“Just a bit.” They smiled at each other.
“It is good though, right? Those, uhm, things?”
“I seem to remember you being less restrained when it comes to discussing ’such, uhm, things’,” Edwin snarked.
Charles shook his head ruefully. “That’s fair.” Sometimes, he could have cursed Edwin’s memory.
“Getting it on,” Edwin started quoting Charles’ words back at him and sent him a pointed look. “Shag. Smash. Wasn’t it?”
“Right,” Charles said. “I guess I deserved that.” It looked like Edwin wouldn’t be needing any more time to get back to his old, haughty self. It was a joy to observe.
Edwin sent him the bitchiest look in his arsenal. “All of that, by the way.” He added a tiny smirk. “And, yes. It’s very good.” The expression softened as soon as the words were out and turned a little bashful, a little cheeky, and very happy.
Charles smiled back. “Of course that fucker would be good in bed.”
“Charles!”
Charles grinned at him. “Don’t try to tell me he doesn’t call me names.”
Edwin looked up for a second as he thought about that. “Not before yesterday, actually.” He narrowed his eyes at Charles. “I can see the two of you are going to be very frustrating going forward.”
Charles smirked. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to take out your frustration on him.”
Edwin spluttered a laugh, and Charles laughed with him. Then he took a deep breath.
“You know what I could use now, Charles?”
Charles indulgently shook his head.
“Some good old-fashioned detective work, without having to worry about all these emotional goings-ons in the back of my mind.”
“Sounds like fun.”
Edwin smiled. “It does.”
It still took a while for Charles to stop feeling a bit strange. It was to be expected, so he didn’t worry, and it was such an improvement from before, he was fine with the little twinge he still felt when he saw Thomas or someone mentioned his name.
And Crystal had been right, he did get along well with Thomas, even if they only saw each other occasionally.
Logically, he knew that things were changing gradually, and that it kept getting better, day by day, but he could pinpoint the exact moment he realised that things had changed.
He and Crystal had been doing some foot work in the magical community for a specific type of artefact, and Edwin had remained in the office to research whether or not it necessarily had to be that type of artefact, or if they had to expand their search.
They hadn’t found anything useful, at least nobody who had admitted to dealing with what they were looking for, though Charles had his suspicions that at least one of the people they’d been talking to had lied.
“I don’t know. She just had a weird vibe,” he told Crystal as they walked up the stairs to the office.
“And someone like her would definitely not let someone like me touch her to make sure,” she said sardonically.
“Well, we know what she specialises in, so maybe Edwin found something that will lead us back there.”
Crystal entered the office before him, and he followed.
His eyebrows pulled together. What was that sound?
“Hello, you two,” Edwin greeted them, an almost serene smile on his face.
Ah. That’s what it was. Someone was purring. One look to Crystal showed that she had noticed the same thing and was smirking.
Charles walked up to the desk and bent forward to find the black cat in Edwin’s lap, arching into Edwin’s gentle left hand and purring.
“Hey, Whiskers,” he greeted the cat.
Said cat cracked open his eyes to slits to briefly look at him and flicked his tail, then he closed his eyes again.
“He was lonely,” Edwin explained, “and his presence helps me focus.” He raised an eyebrow at the bundle in his lap. “In this shape, at least.”
Crystal walked around the desk to scratch the cat under his chin. “Lazy kitty,” she commented.
Edwin just smiled and then tapped his pencil on the book he’d been reading. “And I think we’re looking for a potion, not an artefact.”
“I knew there was something off about that witch!” Charles crowed.
“She specialises in potions and kind of reacted weird to our questions,” Crystal elaborated.
“Well,” Edwin said decisively. “Then we’re going to have to visit her a second time.” He looked at the cat and was about to tell him that their visit had to make way for the case, but the cat rose immediately and jumped onto Edwin’s shoulder.
Edwin blinked. “I suppose that means you’re coming along.”
“Better safe than sorry with witches, right, Whiskers?”
The cat shared a wide-eyed look of understanding with Charles, and Charles nodded.
Yeah, things were okay.
Better than okay.
Great, actually.
End