for @convincingsmile - Nobody's dying today (probably)

[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin knew as soon as he fell through the mirror that something was wrong, and not just a little bit wrong, but the kind of wrong that made the whole world tilt on its axis a little.

It wasn't a misdirected portal, not like the case that had ultimately led them to Crystal, not like many other failures of concentration when traversing mirror portals before, it was something else, and he couldn't place what it was. All he knew was that he'd simply passed through the mirror in question and had landed, hard on the floor on the other side of the room, hard enough that he actually skidded a couple of feet and that couldn't be right because that actually hurt, and hurt in the way he hadn't felt in... well, decades.

It was enough to tumble him against the far wall just from his own momentum, impacting hard enough to knock the breath out of his lungs, and that was definitely wrong, because he shouldn't have had breath or lungs. He could see, even through pain-hazed vision that the poltergeist he'd been baiting had, indeed, gotten caught in the trap he himself had leapt over when aiming for the mirror.

That was, however, the last thing he saw before the half-rotted-through loft floor gave way beneath his sudden and unexpected weight, sending him falling, flailing, scraped to ribbons on the broken slats, to the ground below, and he was reasonably sure he'd actually heard something snap on impact, ribs, if the sudden radiating pain was anything to go by, though his shoulder wasn't in good shape either, and that was an entirely different kind of pain, just layering on top of the feeling of the ragged scratches from the wood, and it occurred to him, dimly, that he'd forgotten how much he hated the feeling of blood on his skin.

It had been different in Hell, the pain, the sensations in general, all of it, it had been horrible, yes, but it was so much more visceral now, and even as his vision began to go hazy again, head swimming, his last thoughts were trying to remember how he'd somehow gotten separated from Charles, who had been barely a step behind him when he'd rounded the corner into the loft pursued by the poltergeist now trapped securely above him.

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[convincingsmile]

Charles nodded, letting himself be steered and guided at this point. Though he admitted sitting in the shade did revigorate him a little. He had so forgotten just how nice it was to be out in the sun, then seeking shelter under some trees. The more he noticed these little things, the more he dreaded for it all to end.

When they sat down, he was silent for a bit. Then looked up, frowning.

"So, anyone noticed the old folk being proper weird or 's just me?" he asked.

[technicallyhellbound]

"They most certainly were." Edwin replied with a nod, "Though I couldn't make heads or tails of it."

Crystal looked from Edwin to Charles and back, "Yeah, you didn't see the pineapples?"
Edwin's brow furrowed, "I fail to see what their choice in accessories means, of course they've got a symbol, they're a botany club?"

Crystal sighed in a way Edwin had come to recognize as some part exasperation and some part steeling herself for an explanation, "They're swingers. That's what the upside down pineapple means."

Edwin was sure he'd heard the term before, but didn't have his notebook on him to be able to leaf through to one of his updated vocabulary pages to be sure, "I'm going to assume you don't mean swing dancers."

[convincingsmile]

"Pineapples?" Charles frowned, trying to think what the hell a fruit had to do with anything...? But then Crystal explained and Charles felt his headache coming back full force. "How what?! They were eying us all the way, mate!" he said, looking both at Crystal and Edwin. "They- do you think they were, like, seriously interested?" he asked Crystal with wide eyes.

Then he paused for a second before he laughed out loud, despite the headache.

"I kept thinking if they could see if I'm sick or somethin'".

[technicallyhellbound]

Crystal shrugged at Charles' question, though she couldn't help but smile at the combination of indignation and curiosity, "Don't know. I mean, we're definitely not in the club, no insignia, but maybe they thought we were new and didn't know about it."

Edwin shook his head, still puzzled, not sure if what he was assuming was correct, "I'm afraid I still don't."

Crystal laughed, shaking her head, "Swingers are couples who trade partners, Edwin. So they probably all thought a lot of things about the three of us." She reached over to rest the back of her hand against Charles' brow, "Including that you're clearly unwell. No fever, though, not clammy, this is just good old-fashioned hangover."

Edwin just shook his head, kneading at the bridge of his nose, "That's... well, that will be a story to add to our adventures, won't it?" It wasn't an objection, it wasn't even really any sort of distaste, it was a sort of half-grudging acceptance, mostly that the world really had changed from what he knew.

[convincingsmile]

"Good ol' fashioned hangover," Charles repeated in a groan, as he pressed his forehead against her cool fingers. Then he chuckled, looking at Edwin. "At least they were half right, yeah? About us," he grinned. "And I'm always happy to be mistaken as your boyfriend, or uh, night companion, Crystal," he said with a wider grin.

Soon, the bird encounter started, and it was as magical as that sounded. Charles was actually surprised that it was much more exciting than the plants. Alright, no offense to plants, but birds are cuter. Edwin is cuter than anything, though, but when it comes to birds and plants, it's birds. It was loud, and lively and Charles battled with his renewing headache, but he was glad they didn't miss this.

Birds handled them in a different way when they approached them as living humans. They were more... natural? When they were approached by ghosts, birds were just a little different, not entirely like cats, but different.

And it was always a treat to see Edwin happy.

[technicallyhellbound]

Crystal snorted, "I'm no homewrecker, and if I was I could definitely do better." There was no real heat to the jab, and she pressed a quick kiss to his temple immediately afterward, to take any tension out of the exchange.

Edwin was delighted by the birds, especially the one that kept side-stepping along Charles' arm to get at his earring, regardless of where the handlers moved the bird to, whether it was Charles' other shoulder or Edwin's, just inching its way across Edwin's shoulders and down his arm until it could catch at Charles' arm again to make its way back up to his ear.

Once Crystal had realized it was going to keep trying, she'd swapped the polaroid for her phone so she could get video, something that Edwin didn't even notice, too enamored of the pink cockatoo currently perched on his outstretched arm, eying him like it was trying to determine if he was a sucker or a threat as the handler explained their usual habitat, diet and gave Edwin a pistachio to hand over before once again rescuing Charles' from the attempted earring-thievery.

Edwin was still smiling when they rejoined Crystal, more at ease than he had been even just on the tour.

[convincingsmile]

Charles laughed out loud at Crystal's remark, nodding as she kissed his temples.

Trying to guard his shiny earring from the parakeet, he could barely contain his laughter too. He kept ducking away, or even tried to reason with the bird. In the end he just resolved to be rescued by the handlers every time one of the birds got close to their prize. He learned nothing about the birds that day, but he could watch Edwin smile and even laugh a little made everything thousand times better.

"That was fun, eh?" Charles exclaimed once they joined Crystal again. He couldn't stop smiling, but he also could not take his eyes off Edwin either. It was always a rare treat to see him like this. And he was alive. God, Charles felt himself falling in love again. He was ready to reach for Edwin's hand but then he spotted someone nearby. Someone familiar. The Night Nurse... and Charles honestly thought he was just too tired.

[technicallyhellbound]

She definitely wasn't a too-tired hallucination, because Edwin spotted her as well, the ease that had settled over him evaporating just as quickly, practically falling away as his shoulders drew up square and ready, something that brought him to his full height, it was something that made him a little imposing even without his usual choice of outfit that made it a more severe impression.

It was also something that didn't cow the woman at all, not that he was really trying to, and before he could ask what was happening, she just regarded each of them in turn and Edwin was pretty sure she could somehow tell exactly where they'd been and what they'd been doing since she'd last seen them, especially when her tone was -in his opinion- particularly snippy, "A case has come into the Agency's purview that requires your particular skills. I'll leave the information in the office so you can formulate a plan, and will check back in with you in the morning when you'll both be more capable of assisting. It is time-sensitive, but not yet critical."

That said, she was gone, and Crystal arched a brow, tone dry, "Nice to know I'm not needed, I guess." She shook her head, slinging an arm across Charles' shoulders and catching Edwin's elbow gently, since she knew how he was about contact, "I say we still get ice cream on the way back, don't think that case is going to go critical after an extra few minutes."

Edwin had just shaken his head at the Night Nurse's departure, "The absolute gall of her to just expect we'll be able to help." Another head-shake, though it was more to clear his mind -and his attitude- rather than to negate what Crystal had said, especially as his next statement was, "I rather think we should, yes."

[convincingsmile]

Watching Edwin just going almost darker, more square was something Charles never wanted to see again. The contrast between his laughter and then the face he put on after it was told they had to go was... crushing. Charles knew the Night Nurse wouldn't have asked them if there were any other way to do it. They were helping someone, someone who was in need and quickly needed it... So it was a good thing, but... but they were alive for only a short time. So Crystal's touch and her reassurance that they could take this easy, that they could get ice cream before it all... went back to work.

Charles felt his headache more as they started walking and he wasn't sure if it was because of the sudden shift or if it truly got worse. But ice cream was good, and it did take the edge of their newest case. Though, it also raised the question how fast would they need to solve the case...

"Do you think it's really that urgent?" Charles asked.

[technicallyhellbound]

Having said their goodbyes to Crystal on the front steps, with a promise to call if they needed her help, all Edwin had to say as he took a moment to actually unlock and open the door to the office, waving Charles through before following, closing the door behind them, was: "I suppose we're going to find out."

There was one of the Agency's manila folders on the desk, the ones that weren't technically manila as they were darker, the color of good waxed paper, and were somehow heavier than a traditional manila folder, it was something Edwin had been trying to work out for ages, as he'd never seen folders like it. Edwin just stared at it for a moment as if it might solve itself if he glowered hard enough, but his expression smoothed a moment later, settling into his usual seat and flipping the thing open.

[convincingsmile]

Somehow, Edwin being alive and holding a folder like that made Charles's heart pretty heavy. He couldn't explain it. But there was something sad and heavy about it. To distract himself from that he smiled and walked behind Edwin to see what was so bloody important...

When Charles thought about it, it was almost hilarious that working on a case while being alive wasn't all that different. Only that he sometimes ran into walls when he was in a hurry, forgetting he couldn't just walk through them. They also needed to ask Crystal for her powers at one point. But in the end, they could solve the case in record time. And yes, it was pretty time sensitive. Ghosts in houses that were about to be demolished, or near old graves that were about to be destroyed due to construction were needed to be addressed fast so they could move on to their afterlife and not get stuck in eternal darkness.

But that also meant that they had to spend their night and the majority of their last day alive working on the case and making sure the ghost moved on. It was early night already when they stumbled back to the office again, and Charles's head was still buzzing, just like when they finished a case.

"Right so, it goes on the finished wall, yeah?"

[technicallyhellbound]

"Yes." The single-word reply was a far cry from Edwin's usual, shedding the windbreaker he'd been wearing, hanging it on the coat rack.

They had finished the case, yes, and in record time he was reasonably sure, but it had been full of too many reminders as to why they shouldn't be doing cases while living, including Charles slamming right into a wall and Edwin having barked his knee, and badly, against a gravestone. It hadn't been enough to leave him limping except for the first few minutes after the initial impact, but it was still tender -likely from having been running on it instead of tending to it- and it was a painful reminder of how fragile they actually were.

More than that, he was tired, rubbing a hand up over his face with a quiet, "Should write up the case notes. But for once I don't actually want to." As much as he'd wanted to return to their normal state, he also hadn't wanted to squander their short time alive, either. He didn't regret helping another ghost pass on, he didn't think he ever could, but at the same time it felt like a waste of a day. In short, it was a complicated tangle of emotions that he didn't think he was going to be able to sort through anytime soon.

[convincingsmile]

Charles nodded and went to the wall to move the case. It was to do something with this nervous energies too. His breath still came a little shirt after that slam, and his ear was still ringing. But they did it.

He turned to look at Edwin, seeing him taking off the jacket. He looked knackered, in the wrong way too. Almost like that first night they got their lives back. A hint of guilt gripped Charles about it, as always when he saw Edwin hurting.

"Then don't write them, yeah?" Charles said, rubbing his shoulder without him even noticing. "Go and rest. Lay down," he said, walking to him. "I'll..." he started but he trailed off. He suddenly wondered how long they had in these bodies. "When... when does the spell end?"

[technicallyhellbound]

It was reflex, really, that had him reaching to clasp a hand at Charles' side when he moved close, basking in the warmth of him as he so often did even before all this, but it was a warmth that was somehow more solid now, more visceral in a way.

"Midnight." He replied, glancing up at the clock, "We've another four, not quite five hours." His brow furrowed, then, studying Charles' face for a moment, "It doesn't seem like enough time, does it?"

He shook his head, then, "And I'll go to bed, but only if you come too. I don't... well, I don't really want to let you out of my sight." Some tangle of nervous fear that when the spell wore off they'd just be gone even despite knowing that wasn't how it was designed.

[convincingsmile]

Charles squeezed Edwin's hand, nodding. His gaze flickered to the only working clock, glaring at the numbers of it.

"Yeah, 's not," Charles agreed in a hoarse voice. He suddenly wasn't even sure what he even wanted to do before they had a case to attend to. "Right, yeah, yes, I... I'll come," he smiled, mostly to hide his nerves about it too. He died before, he knew what was gonna happen... but it didn't make him less nervous. "Let's go, an' to bloody hell with all this," he said, motioning around. He raised Edwin's hand to his lips, kissing his fingers. "Come."

[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin had relaxed almost immediately at the agreement, and couldn't help but smile at the derision in suggesting they just ignore everything else, nodding, "Yes, that's the idea."

That smile softened at the kiss, even despite how tired he was, nodding and half-leading, half letting himself be led down the hall, dragging Charles through the door to close it behind them, "There. Just us for the rest of the night." His brows both lifted, "Now I can't promise that we'll get very far, but I should still quite like to kiss you, like this, while we're still able."

[convincingsmile]

As they got into the room, Charles barely let Edwin continue. He cupped his cheeks and pulled him into a kiss. A kiss that he wanted to do for a long, long time.

"Yeah, mate, I don't.... I mean, not sure I could stop at kissing, yeah?" he said, feeling a little guilty about it. But he wanted Edwin to know that. They only had hours... and Edwin was injured again. Such perfect luck... Charles would hold back, of course, for Edwin, but it will be painful on many levels.

[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin had swayed forward reflexively into that kiss, returning it after a moment, because of course Charles was already a step ahead of him and it would take him a beat or two to catch up.

It was also why he just rested his brow against Charles' when he broke the kiss to speak, humming an acknowledgement before lifting his head, cradling Charles' face, thumb tracing the arch of his cheekbone, tone gone fully serious as he replied, "Charles. I've no intention of stopping at just kissing. And then, to make sure he was actually being clear, he added, "That's merely a starting point. We've still got time."

[convincingsmile]

"Do we, Edwin?" Charles asked. It wasn't about the touches, the kisses, the... everything. Suddenly it all dawned on him. That they had time, yes, but not as much as he thought. Not how he thought. But the touch on his face was good, grounding. It made him remember the most precious thing about having alive bodies. He tilted his head to brush his lips against Edwin's hand, holding his palm to his mouth for a moment. "But yeah, that's aces, a starting point," he said, as his lips slowly pulled into a smile. Then he moved in, tilting his head to kiss Edwin again, deeper but slower this time. He was still nervous, he was still feeling unsettled for some reason, but Edwin was there, and he was warm and alive and Charles was waiting for this for so long... he wanted to enjoy it. They got all kinds of stuff with Crystal too.

[technicallyhellbound]

"Time enough for this, I should hope." He replied to that question, but then Charles' lips were against his palm and that was enough to dissolve any further words, just swallowing hard and reflexive. He'd forgotten -or maybe hadn't known- just how sensitive hands could actually be.

Then Charles was kissing him again and something in him unwound, just relaxing into it, the hand at Charles' cheek sliding around to scratch gently at the nape of his neck, hesitating only briefly before sliding up into his hair, scratching gently against his scalp in turn, reveling in the feeling of those curls against his fingers.

[convincingsmile]

Charles felt it, the warmth pooling in his stomach and chest, in a more intense and alive way than when he was a ghost. Something primal was in that warmth, something that filled him with such a nostalgic feeling that he almost cried.

"Edwin," he whispered the boy's name against his lips, feeling his fingers in his hair. It was like his whole body was made only for Edwin to touch, only to experience Edwin with it. "Love," Charles said, sliding his arms around the boy's waist, his fingers seeking contact with his skin under his shirt. The movement wasn't exactly impatient but more direct, more... demanding.

[technicallyhellbound]

The endearment was enough to make his breath catch a little, unless it was the kiss, a reminder that he did actually have to breathe now when he didn't usually, or hadn't needed to before when they did this kind of thing.

The warmth of Charles' hands against his skin only deepened that indrawn breath, releasing again with a quiet, "Oh. Right." A flicker of a smile then, turning his head to nudge against Charles' once again, "Going to have to get that off on purpose." Judging by his tone, the half-hidden amusement in it, there was a good chance that he'd already been trying to just will the garment away as they usually could.

[convincingsmile]

Charles chuckled softly at Edwin's remark. He would have done the same if he weren't too preoccupied to feel as much of Edwin as he could. For a moment, he just held him, just relishing in this silly motion of having to take clothes off... for real, then his hand went for Edwin's shirt, tapping the buttons with his fingertip.

"Can I?" he asked in a low tone, suddenly excited to be able to be the one taking Edwin's clothes off him. "Wanna unwrap you like a present, yeah?" he added, leaning in to nuzzle Edwin's cheek.

[technicallyhellbound]

That smile just spread, "Yes, please." The hand that wasn't still threaded through Charles' hair dipped to slide his fingers up under the hem of Charles' shirt in turn, tugging gently at the hem of it, "Yours too, though. I'd... well, I'd quite like to see the whole of you."

He didn't think he would ever get tired of looking at Charles, but there was something more to it, now, something he couldn't place any more than he could pin down the warm anticipation starting to coil in the pit of his stomach, familiar as ever, but different in a way he couldn't quantify.

[convincingsmile]

Charles was so occupied with touching and kissing Edwin that he almost jumped when he felt his hand under his shirt.

"Blimey," he whispered, mostly to himself. The electric shock he got only to feel Edwin's hand against his naked skin was... exciting. It was much better than he anticipated. And that was good news and... bad news. Charles already felt the shiver in his movements about wanting more and wanting all of Edwin. What would happen when he got to undress him...? "I mean, yeah," Charles stuttered as he was trying not to tear off the buttons of Edwin's shirt just yet, failing only the last one before he pushed the shirt off his shoulders. And all that skin revealing himself to him was like walking into an all-you-can-eat restaurant. Charles's mouth was already on the softest, most alluring parts before he realized he should make good on his promise too and take off his shirt.