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.

Comments

[convincingsmile]

"It was brills!" Charles grinned placing the bags he had on the couch and the food on the desk. "Going into a shop when you're alive is a whole different thing."

"It was maybe a little more entertaining than going alone, for sure," Crystal added, placing more bags on the couch. "So I take there's not gonna be cases today?"

"No and we also take a break from the current one," Charles said, looking pointedly at Edwin. "So we eat and then-"

"And then you go and clean up," Crystal said, motioning toward the bag with bathing supplies, making sure that the two boys won't forget that.

"Right, right," Charles grinned. Once again, they got all kinds of food and Charles was trying to make sure that they have enough vegetarian options, and also desserts. He wanted to bring ice cream too but there was nowhere to store that and he didn't want to make a mess out of the office than necessary. He was also thrilled to have dinner with Crystal. Finally, the whole agency together. Usually he would ask about Edwin's progress but for some reason he didn't this time. Because the moment Edwin finished it, when he found he solution, that put a timer on their current lives too.

[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin inclined his head at the mention of taking a break from the current case, lifting both hands in a deliberate show that he wasn't working on anything, expression amused all the same. He even moved to fetch another chair, careful to use his good arm to do so.

Crystal seemed a little surprised that she was silently being invited to actually eat with them, but didn't say anything against it, just started setting take away containers out across the desk, "So Charles says you're doing a vegetarian thing? I didn't know that was something they did in your time."

Edwin knew that Charles would have explained as little as possible, likely using only that exact phrase 'a vegetarian thing', and he also knew what would keep Crystal from asking further, "We didn't, not really, it's just me, a holdover from Hell." The statement worked as intended, because while Crystal definitely wanted to know more, she also knew she definitely didn't want to know more, especially right before eating

Which was why she just nodded, sliding some of the containers closer to Edwin's side of the desk, "That's these, tofu and rice poke bowl, but if the tofu is too much like meat there's also a caprese sandwich, that's tomatoes, basil and mozzarella with a balsamic vinegar dressing, and a tortellini salad, I know there's a couple other things in here that don't have meat, either, but that's the big ones."

[convincingsmile]

While Charles knew that Edwin wasn't fond of meat, he wasn't entirely sure why. He had his suspicions and when Edwin confirmed it was because of Hell, he felt a little guilt ping at his chest. He may ask later, but not now. Not when Crystal was here and they were being alive, and kids together. Hell was a distant thing, and it would stay that way as long as Charles was concerned.

"Mmm, and pastries too," Charles said, with his mouth already full of spaghetti because obviously, that was the first thing he got when they could venture further than the café nearby.

All in all, it was great. Eating and talking and being all in all together with two of his favorite people, once again Charles wished it could last forever. Eventually, Crystal decided she should leave as the couch was probably going to be occupied when the boys got tired again. She took some of the food with him and warned them about the clothes and to wash behind their ears too.

"That was brills, wasn't it?" Charles was still grinning as he went to tidy up the remains of their feast.

[technicallyhellbound]

"It was... well, it was certainly more pleasant than I remember family meals being, or meals at St. Hil's." Those had both been their own particular form of Hell even before he'd actually been to the place. He still wasn't entirely sure he actually liked eating, but he wasn't going to go out of his way to avoid it, it was more likely he'd simply forget to if he was involved with something else. Especially considering that he hadn't needed to do so for far longer than he'd needed to in the first place.

There was a brief hesitation before he added, "I'll likely need your assistance with the bandage again once I've showered." He was also trying not to consider the fact that he'd probably also need Charles' assistance to undress and re-dress again as well, because while the ache in his ribs and his shoulder was less than it had been the day before, it was still enough to slow him down.

[convincingsmile]

Charles once again looked over at Edwin when he mentioned family dinners. They talked a lot about the school, and how they've spent their time there but family was a little tricky. Because Charles attempted to avoid talking much about his own, and seemingly Edwin wasn't too eager to talk about them either.

"Yeah," he frowned, looking at the empty food containers and wrappings. Oh, he was going to miss this, wasn't he? Now that he knew that eating together wasn't always a stressful event, or getting it done as soon as possible to avoid stepping on a landmine... But with a deep sigh, and a smile he turned to Edwin again. However, it froze when Edwin mentioned he may need help. "Mate I can... Want me to help you shower too? I mean with the shoulder and... all."

[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin's shoulders sagged forward a little at the offer, because leave it to Charles to offer more than Edwin had asked, but still exactly what he needed, something that he wasn't sure when Charles had started doing, but was going to appreciate all the same, as he always did.

He nodded, "Yes, thank you. I imagine I'll need help with much of the rest of it as well." A soft huff that was mostly amused, "It's rather a complicated process, all told. Tend to forget that."

[convincingsmile]

Charles was a bit nervous about asking but as he watched Edwin and noted that he was fine and even relaxed about the offer he smiled. He was still nervous but for entirely different things. He loved Edwin and respected him but having bodies also made a few things more difficult for Charles. And exciting. It took all his willpower not to jump around like a puppy.

"Don't worry, I'll help you, yeah? Anything you need," Charles said as he walked up to Edwin to take his hand. "Everything okay, though? You're not hurting too much?"

[technicallyhellbound]

He nodded, smiling at Charles' hand in his own, as always appreciative of that easy way Charles always gave contact and comfort, "I'm alright. Everything still aches, and I can't breathe too deeply without feeling like my chest's in a vise, but it's not as bad as yesterday."

He also wasn't looking forward to finding out just how extensive -or how deep- the bruising was, because he knew with the fall he'd taken he was likely to be all shades of purple and blue and was going to be unsettling at best.

He gave Charles' hand a gentle squeeze in return, "Thank you, for remembering about the meat." It wasn't that he thought Charles wouldn't believe him after that morning's outburst, but it was possible that it would slip his mind when presented with too many options.

[convincingsmile]

Charles smiled a little, happy that Edwin wasn't in too much pain. Though, he could never know with him, truly. He had to endure so much after all. To calm him, Charles leaned in to kiss his forehead.

"Ah, yeah," he smiled a little sheepish, brushing his thumb over the back of Edwin's hand. "Wanted you to eat good too," he shrugged. He took a moment, wondering if he should pursue but in the end, he continued. "You said it's because of Hell," he started but then hesitated again. "Wanna tell me?"

[technicallyhellbound]

"Not much to tell, I suppose. You saw what Orobas..." There was the barest hesitation before saying the name, shaking his head a moment later even as he realized that Charles' imagination would only run away with that, likely making it worse than it was, "The crowd wasn't the only ones being fed bits of me, that's all."

Quick, to the point, and only a little quieter than he had been before, looking a little sallow for a moment, but it passed quickly enough, adding: "That would be enough to put anyone off it, I think."

[convincingsmile]

Charles frowned and frowned more as Edwin continued. That demon again... His lips thinned as he was trying to reel in his sudden anger about it, looking away from Edwin for a moment. His hand went cold as he held the other's.

"Bloody hell, Edwin," Charles huffed, shaking his head. "That's fuckin' mental, that's..." Honestly, it was something he could barely process. "Didn't know it's this bad, yeah? And I wanted to make you eat meat again," he huffs to himself. Charles knew that a hug would hurt Edwin at this point, so he just reached out to put his hand on the back of his neck pulling him closer. "Sorry about that. I'm so sorry," he muttered, even if it probably didn't help anything but Charles had no other idea what to do with the sudden helplessness that got to him.

[technicallyhellbound]

He shook his head a little, giving that hand in his own another squeeze, "It's quite alright, Charles." He turned his head then to nudge his brow against Charles' temple, "You didn't know. It isn't... well, it isn't as if I've said anything about it, is it? Even since you saw part of it."

He was too used to keeping the details packed away tight where they couldn't hurt him, where that information couldn't be used against him, along with the not-entirely-baseless fear that speaking the demon's name would alert him, somehow.

[convincingsmile]

Charles shook his head against Edwin's.

"It shouldn't have happened to you," he said quietly. "None of that," he added. He knows this is pointless, his stupid pity wouldn't undo anything that happened. All Charles could do was making sure that nothing like that happened to Edwin again.

Charles pulled back a little, with a small smile, to look into Edwin's face.

"So, wanna check out the shower downstairs?" He asked. "Crystal got us all sorts of stuff."

[technicallyhellbound]

He just hummed a quiet acknowledgement and agreement to that statement, because that was definitely something they had the same opinion on, the same way they both seemed to know that dwelling on it wasn't going to do either of them any good, which was why he nodded at the actual question, "Yes, that's probably for the best, all told."

With one more gentle squeeze of Charles' hand he settled back in his chair again, if only so that he could unfold to his feet, "Do you need help carrying any of it?"

[convincingsmile]

With a smile, Charles moved away to give Edwin his space. Then he chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, mate, I have everything under control. I'll take care of you," he said gently. "You're hurting and you were working all day, so now it's time for you to rest. Let's go, yeah?"

Charles visited the downstairs bathroom a few times but only to check if it was empty, or there weren't any animal trapped there. But otherwise, since they had no use for it, it wasn't a place of interest for him either. But he knew Crystal sometimes used it. So he grabbed the bag with the supplies and held a hand out for Edwin when he was ready, to walk them down on the old stairs to the bathroom.

"So, need help with undressing?" Charles asked softly.

[technicallyhellbound]

He'd been curious, when they'd first moved in, why that top floor bathroom was only toilets and sinks, while both of the lower floors were full facilities, but as it hadn't been an issue of usefulness for them before, it wasn't something that he'd bothered looking into.

For now, he was mostly just surprised at how quickly Crystal had made the place her own, even when she was no longer crashing with them, but that was oddly endearing, in a way, and so he wasn't going to complain about that, either.

"I'm hardly an invalid, Charles." He replied to that quiet question, though as he didn't want that to be taken as an actual reprimand, he was quick to follow it with: "But yes, I would appreciate the help. Thank you."

[convincingsmile]

Charles looked away sheepishly as Edwin warned him. He rubbed the back of his neck a little nervously.

"Sorry, 's just, you know, this is special, yeah?" he shrugged, feeling his cheeks get color. "We probably not gonna do this again and I can be here with you for it. I'm nervous," he chuckled embarrassed. Touching and helping Edwin when he was vulnerable and hurting, and being allowed to be close to him, all while he was alive? Charles could not feel any more lucky.

Then he took some towels and washcloths from the bags, along with shampoo and shower gel. And only then he approached Edwin.

"Ready when you are, not gonna rush you," he told him.

[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin's brow furrowed, honestly trying to understand what was special about it, and -apparently- special enough to cause Charles to blush like that and just coming up blank, already working the buttons of his shirt free, because that was something he could do one-handed and without moving too much.

Finally, however he just said it, trying to be careful in both tone and wording to make it clear that he wanted to understand and wasn't shutting Charles down somehow, "I'm afraid I fail to see what would be considered special about assisting me shower. It's utility, isn't it? Getting clean?"

[convincingsmile]

Charles was already out of his polo shirt when he looked up at Edwin's question.

"Ah, yeah," he started a little hesitant. Then he chuckled to himself because, yeah, he may have gotten a little sappy there, huh. But then he walked to Edwin, holding up a hand to tell him he can help him get his shirt off once it's unbuttoned. "It's just... maybe tomorrow you're gonna find the reverse of the spell and we can be ghosts again. But we're alive now, and we get to have a hot water shower. We get to touch each other in a new way, yeah? I gotta touch you in ways I could never before and never again, probably."

Charles shrugged, looking around the room for a moment.

"I can make sure you're safe and your wounds are tended, and I can also help you clean your body that I love so much? I think that's pretty mint," he added. "It's special, to me. Because you're special to me, Edwin."

[technicallyhellbound]

He did, at least, seem to consider that, just turning things over from that new perspective even as he shrugged his good arm out of his shirt, letting Charles help with the other, but he nodded once it was off, because the warmth of Charles' hands -even through shirt and undershirt- was more pleasant than he'd expected, and he could only imagine it was going to be moreso when they were also standing in warm running water, "I think I understand."

It took him probably longer than it should have to sort out that he was going to have to sit to get his boots off, because nothing else was getting off until he'd dealt with that, lowering himself gingerly to the bench beside the sink, mostly managing to untie them and unlace the first few eyelets by feel, because bending forward put the wrong kind of pressure on his ribs, but he managed with the minimum amount of fuss, trousers following.

The undershirt was going to present a problem, however, because while he could get his good arm pulled out of the sleeve, he couldn't really shuck it off over his head and the other arm himself, thankful once again for Charles' help before he'd even managed to ask for it, though his nose wrinkled just a little at the fact that one of the corners of the tape holding the bandage down had come up, tugging against his shirt and his skin as he shed the garment.

The bruising was definitely worse than it had been the day before, uneven purple splotching all the way along his back, practically from shoulder to hip, running around his right side and in the hollow of his shoulder where it had been popped out of -and then back into- place, but there was no swelling, and no heat to his skin that would indicate infection anywhere.

He just shook his head, "I'm already exhausted."

[convincingsmile]

Even if Edwin didn't understand, Charles was still content. He knew what he wanted, and what he should do for Edwin after all, and nothing else mattered. He tried not to be too overbearing, and letting Edwin take off his clothes in his pace and only helping when he'd seen it entirely necessary. He didn't want to make Edwin feel incompetent or anything of the such, even if Charles truly just tried to help. So while Edwin was taking a breather, he went to start the water to let it warm up by the time they got under it, and got rid of his own clothes, only noting for a moment how... light and vulnerable he felt without all those layers.

When the clothes were off, however, Charles had to control his breathing. The ugly, vivid marks on Edwin's body were... reminding him of so many things. If he could he would have taken those bruises because the sight of them on the most important person in his afterlife just made him want to rage. Before Charles even registered what he was doing he gently brushed his fingers down on Edwin's naked, injured shoulder and followed it up with his lips.

"Will you be able to stand while I wash you?" Charles asked, his hand dropping to hold Edwin's.

[technicallyhellbound]

Edwin swayed into that touch, only to straighten a moment later when he realized he'd done so, nodding at the question, "I'll be alright. Promise." He gave Charles' hand a gentle squeeze, rolling to his feet with the same sort of effort it had taken to unfold from his chair, still thankful for the help, feeling a bit like he should be embarrassed by it, but he wasn't, not even a little.

He gestured to the gauze still taped to his shoulder, "Best to get this out of the way before we get in, let it get cleaned out a bit as well." He doubted there was any remaining debris in the wound but letting clean water run over it before re-dressing it would only be a good thing as far as he was concerned.

[convincingsmile]

"Good," Charles smiled and helped Edwin get on his feet. He held his hand through it as he guided him to the shower. "I'll take it off once it's a bit soaked, it may be easier to get it off then," he offered as he tested the water's temperature. Then he slowly guided Edwin further under the shower just to let the warm water run down his shoulders and back, over the bandages. Only then Charles reached for it. "This may sting," he warned as he slowly, as gently as he could took it off to see how it looked. Well, it looked better than he thought but still a nasty wound. Thankfully it was not infected.

"I'll start with the wound, and then I'll get to the rest, yeah?" he told Edwin as he got the shower gel and a washcloth in hand. "I'll be careful but if it hurts tell me, alright?" he asked in a small smile and laid a kiss on the back of Edwin's neck, lingering for a moment longer than necessary.

[technicallyhellbound]

"I will." He replied with a nod, letting his head roll forward a little, just basking in the sensation of the water, the warmth of Charles behind him.

Of course, given Edwin's pain tolerance, the sting of soap probably wouldn't even register as something he should object to, especially when he was all too comfortable otherwise. He'd been worried that the feeling of water in his hair would be too reminiscent of blood seeping from an unseen head injury, something that had happened altogether too often in his escape attempts, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was an entirely different sensation.

It was similar, in a way, but not enough to be a problem, and certainly not with Charles right there at his side, a grounding presence and a reminder of where -and when- he was.

[convincingsmile]

Charles cleaned the wound as much as he could, finding it only bleeding just a little. He hoped it wouldn't color the water enough for Edwin to get jumpy about it, but there was barely any blood. So when the wound was fairly clean, Charles continued with Edwin's back, gently and delicate, running his palms over the parts he found precious to try and commit them to memory. To always remember how they felt under his touch while alive. The shape of his shoulder blades, the line down the middle of his spine... Charles always made sure to work slowly and signal to Edwin where he would touch him, taken he stood behind him.

When Charles was ready he stepped around Edwin, his hand sliding around his waist with the excuse to steady him, but it was more like he could not stop touching him. It was getting worse the more they spent under warm rays of water, naked.

"Other side," Charles grinned. "Want me to wash your hair?"