technicallyhellbound | Ghostcat shenanigans

Ghostcat shenanigans

It had been a few weeks since they'd started this arrangement, and so far the Cat had, in fact, been a surprising amount of help. Enough so that Charles had stopped being mostly on-guard while in his presence and had even taken the 'puppy' nickname in stride, though he still hadn't really looked too deeply at why it didn't bother him as much as it probably should.

That particular day was neither a Monday nor a Friday, and was in fact a Wednesday, so while it wasn't one of their scheduled briefings, it was a visit that had been arranged in advance, a few hours while Crystal and Charles were at a concert, the kind of thing that while Edwin enjoyed being invited to, really wasn't the kind of thing he actually enjoyed going to, and the others both knew it, which was why they continued to invite him, even if he always declined.

It was late afternoon, not yet early evening when he stepped out of the mirror into the cannery, tugging at the collar of his slipover in much the same way he did the lapels of his usual jacket. He'd been branching out from his usual look, just a little, in bits and pieces, and now had something of a range of shades of those softer jumpers, this one was a deep bottle-green and was nearly a cowl-neck, but definitely less severe than his usual look.

It had been raining in London, or rather it had been misting heavily, and he wasn't quite sure if it was still raining here or if it had just finished, there wasn't the same kind of moisture in the air, which meant that if it was raining it hadn't been doing so for long, and all he knew was that the Cat had something planned for them to do, he was only now considering that he probably should have asked a few more questions beforehand.

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The idea of Edwin's birthday not meaning much to him, strangely, makes the Cat feel a certain kind of way. It isn't sad, exactly, and it isn't sympathetic — because Edwin clearly doesn't seem to mind all that much — but there's a definite pull on at least one of the Cat King's heartstrings that society or experience or both has made something as universally sacred as a birthday something of low regard for him. If he were a friendlier cat, or perhaps if he and Edwin got successfully closer, he might have sought the opportunity to bully him into doing something nice for it, perhaps without revealing the true reason for initiating something nice on that particular day... but then he can't see Edwin falling for that, even if it means little to him.

"Ooh, you really are getting to know me, aren't you?" He purrs, demurely fluttering his lashes though he can't lie and say that it doesn't feel pretty great to have Edwin call his bluff like that. At least this time it's more lighthearted than being called lonely and left to sit with that feeling once Edwin turned to leave.

"Well, I get a kiss in exchange for my assistance when you need it, so I don't think what I want is any mystery here."

And Edwin is enticingly tangible right now..... But, there's the issue of Edwin's tangibility also featuring visibility to contend with, isn't there? And the Cat might be selfish, but he can understand why Edwin might whole-heartedly refuse to kiss him anywhere that people might be able to see. He hums, eyes flicking down the street they're currently wandering down.

"If I find somewhere nice and secluded, do you think that'd be fair?"

There was, of course, the fact that Edwin was reasonably sure that none of these people would actually see him again that sort-of alleviated some of the tension that would usually come with being seen kissing someone, but whether or not it actually would do so was something he'd rather not test.

Which was why the Cat's offer of finding somewhere secluded -along with Charles' occasional regalement of his own stolen moments in blind corners and supply cupboards and how fun that was- tipped things in the Cat's favor and while Edwin did appear to be considering the offer for a moment, his decision really had been made already.

He nodded once, "I think that sounds fair, yes, and certainly sounds more enjoyable than the birthday switches that were traditional in my time."

The instant he sees Edwin nod, he's already guiding him down the thoroughfare a little faster, mental mind-map of his town splayed open in his brain, eyes surveying his surroundings to locate the best alleyway for their plans. Excitement fuelling him, he almost misses Edwin's comment, but the words sink in just as he's turning down the side of a little niche fashion boutique and into the access road that brackets it.

"Switches?" He squints, not sure if he actually wants the answer to his question but certainly asking it anyway, because who would expect anything less: "Like—?" He mimes the act of whipping, or at least hitting something, with his free hand. He shudders. "That's messed up."

His brow creased a little at the pantomime, "It was hardly a whipping, or being beaten with a hammer, I'm not really sure what you were trying to get across just there, and I believe pinches are traditional now." He shook his head, "It was hardly severe." Though given the source, that was probably debatable, "And many traditions are 'messed up'" there were finger quotes there and everything, "when you get right down to it."

He still followed easily at the Cat's side, keeping pace and keeping track of their surroundings as he usually did, "But your idea sounds better regardless."

"I'm all for a bit of roughness, but getting struck or hurt in any kind of way, for your birthday, is particularly fucked up." Weird for a Cat who will wilfully scratch a ghost for a tease to be so fussy about this, but it feels wrong to so easily chalk it up as normal simply because it was commonplace. Or maybe it's the idea of punishing someone for feeling special on the one day of the year when they are entitled, arguably, to feel special that leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

Either way, he shrugs and hurries his pace so that he and Edwin can tuck into the smaller alley going off the access road, the one capped by a dead end and the lower portion of a fire escape but with no doors that appear to be frequented by staff or residents or anything else, and no foot traffic to speak of whatsoever.

"Though, if we're going by the same inspiration..." The Cat says, flirtation sneaking back into his voice as he turns to Edwin and then takes a step closer, bullying himself into his personal bubble with only the wall behind the ghost if he were to step back. He grins. "Then it's a kiss for every year I've been alive, right? You might be here a while~"

He was perfectly content to let the subject drop, as it seemed the Cat was as well. More than that he was surprisingly comfortable being penned in like that where he certainly wouldn't have been before, and wouldn't be with someone else.

At the grin, however, and the statement that went with it, he returned a downright impressively flat look, one hand lifting between them to press two fingers against the Cat's chin, just below his lower lip, not to fully push him away, but certainly enough to keep him from moving closer just yet, "One. You can have one."

His brow hitched higher then, only barely managing to hold onto the flat look, amusement clear in his eyes and in his tone as he added, "So you'd best make it count."

[ By now, it should be no surprise to anyone that the Cat finds Edwin's firmer manner ridiculously enticing — the way he bosses people around, the demands he makes, his strict attitude that sometimes borders on stubbornness — so it should also be no surprise that when Edwin presses two fingers to his chin in a way that is absolutely not intended to be suggestive, the Cat's pupils dilate to leave only a slim border of gold around them.

And then to be challenged like that...? The Cat barely contains a yowl of excitement, the air around them seeming to fizzle with potential as the Cat fails to resist the temptation to flick those widened eyes down to Edwin's mouth and back up again. Make it count, he'd said…

He raises his own hand to press gentle fingers at Edwin's wrist, moving his hand and therefore his fingers away easily enough; a physical sign that Edwin isn't reluctant, and that this is all a further step-change in this little dance they're doing around one another. He takes that step closer he'd wanted to before, before Edwin had tugged on his leash, tilting his head to survey his prize. ]

Where did that little ghost who gasped at the feeling of my breath on his skin go, huh? [ His voice has dropped to something closer to a purr than speech, low and even, not entirely dissimilar to how it had been during the encounter he's talking about. He can't help but remember that delicious little flutter of Edwin's eyelids, so close to giving in. What a wasted opportunity. ] Would you have let me kiss you then, if I hadn't put my bracelet on you?

Edwin would forever be amused at just how similar the Cat's reactions and Charles' reactions were to the same actions, or tone of voice, or both, but he also knew better than to say so at a time like this, brow just arching a little as he answered that first question, warm and amused as before, a half-murmured: "Couldn't begin to say." Because even now that selfsame tremor was still there, though it was no longer something akin to fear as it had been then, just two steps off from it, if that. No, now it was a sort of excitement as much as anything else.

But then the actual question followed, and it was one he'd asked himself many times since that day, and he hadn't ever managed to come up with a satisfactory answer for himself, though he had determined that if he had done, he would have regretted it, but he doubted that was something the Cat needed to hear, either, especially not at the moment, which was why he just curled his fingers, hand turning a little in the Cat's hold so that he could trail the pads of his fingers along the crest of the Cat's ear, "I don't really know. There was a lot going on at the time."

It would be so easy — so wonderfully, stupidly, ridiculously easy — to imagine that this is the culmination of some long kept desire that the both of them share, that Edwin has been thinking about potential and what could have been almost as much as the Cat himself has, that this is an inevitably that was bound to happen eventually. And maybe it is, maybe he's right, maybe such a thing could very well be true-- but he doubts it. He and Edwin only share a few similarities, but aside from their shared loneliness in a crowded room, their natural curiosity is probably the greatest thing they have in common. Edwin has (at least to the Cat's knowledge) only had one rather disappointing crow kiss to date, unless he and Charles have made any headway on their whole thing since the last time he checked, so it's understandable there'd be some reciprocal interest even if only for that reason alone. And, honestly? He'll take it.

The fingers at his ear make his eyes slip closed, as if without sight he can focus on the feeling better, keep the sensation flitting around his head like a pale butterfly once Edwin decides enough is enough. When he opens his eyes again, they're wide and black and sparkling and alive with intense excitement. If Edwin had been teasing or thinking that the Cat wouldn't wholeheartedly take his challenge of making it count to heart, then he's about to learn the error of playing these kinds of games with a Cat King.

"But you'll let me now...?" It's a question only in the loosest sense, because he doesn't give Edwin any time to answer since he's already got his answer, and takes another half step closer, gently boxing Edwin in against the alleyway so that he can tilt his head and slot their lips together in a warm and insistent kiss that, though it's certainly firm, isn't so much so that it's overwhelming. And the Cat won't pull away until he's pushed, because Edwin told him to make it count, so he plans to milk this for every drop he can get.

Charles was still working himself out, and Edwin was still happy to let him, and there had been one solitary, startlingly brief kiss, after a job that had been harder than they'd expected, Charles had caught him by the shoulders -as he often did- but instead of the usual shake as if to make sure he was all in one piece, it had been a kiss, sudden and unexpected and over before Edwin could fully register what was happening. Apparently reflex as it hadn't happened again since, nor had Charles brought it up.

But that was neither here nor there at the moment, because despite having agreed to the Cat's preferred method of payment for assisting on cases, it hadn't actually come up again just yet, or, it had, but so far had consisted of a mostly-teasing kiss to the Cat's knuckles and another to his cheek, and one to his brow that had come right before pushing him off to send him home, however gently it had been.

This was new territory, and the almost-question was met with a quiet hum of assent, one that didn't actually finish before the Cat was on him and that was altogether more delightful than Edwin had been expecting. He would have been able to feel it regardless, the Cat being a magical creature and all, but truly being able to feel it was something else again, it was enough to have him gasping softly, the hand that had just been teasing at the Cat's ear sliding back into his hair, just cradling the back of his head as if Edwin might be able to tell when he was going to move again.

[ He's kissed a few ghosts in his time, but it's never felt anything like this. He knows, logically, it's to do with the ley lines and the energy transference and the fact that there is newly restored energy thrumming through the magical pathways beneath their feet as they stand here, but... but some romantic part of the Cat's brain is also wondering if it feels this good because it's been such a long time coming, something he's wanted for what feels like an age.

Like the eventual tip over the precipice after edging for too long, he thinks, and tries to suffocate a laugh at his own crudeness but fails. Luckily for him, the sound comes out pleased and affectionate against Edwin's mouth as both his hands fall to his lapels, intimate but respectful despite the fact that both of them know he'd be putting them to good use if he was allowed to.

One kiss, Edwin had said. The Cat refuses to fuck this up, but he also refuses to miss any opportunities. So, as Edwin cradles the back of his head, the Cat tilts his ever so slightly to better fit their mouths together, to get them closer, so that when he opens his mouth ever so slightly to close lips around Edwin's lower one, he can do so without actually breaking away. Technically still the same kiss. ]

It was a technicality to be sure, but one that Edwin was going to permit, for the time being, because he was enjoying himself. Not that he hadn't expected to, of course, he'd known there was little enough chance of not enjoying himself, he just hadn't considered just how much the sensations -touch especially predominant among them- would come in to play with his temporary solidity.

His eyes had dipped partway closed just at the initial warmth and pressure and the slide of the Cat's hair between his fingers, a soft sound escaping his throat, not a moan, really, but something dangerously close to one, and it was a sound that mingled easily with the Cat's amusement at himself.

It was a much more definite moan at the teasing pull at his lower lip, fingers pressing reflexively more closely against the Cat's scalp in response, eyes dropping closed completely as if that might make him more able to pick apart the sensation.

Slowly slowly, the Cat tries to remind himself, despite feeling a wonderful little thrill shoot across his nerves at the sound and sensation of Edwin's soft groan against his mouth.

He really is beautifully tangible right now, as solid as a flesh and blood body though perhaps lacking the warmth, and the Cat is half tempted to jokingly suggest (once they've separated, of course) that they meet up closer to the ley line's vein in future so that the Cat can really come to terms with how far this physicality goes... but it's hard to give the future much thought at all when any time beyond this one means a finality to this kiss.

He breathes slowly through his nose, golden eyes flickering shut, warm breath ghosting between the seams of their lips. Edwin is holding him closer, pressing precise fingers against his scalp, not pushing him away on a claim that this is too much to take all at once or reiterating his one kiss rule-- The Cat wants to kiss him deeper, find out if he tastes like anything at all... but perhaps that would spook Edwin into cutting things short, so he merely pulls softly and then releases his lower lip, replacing it with his own between both of Edwin's — as if to show him reciprocation is just as fun as experiencing it is — while his hands slide up a little further, to lightly brush fingertips over the fine angle of Edwin's jaw.

If kissing was generally more like this, Edwin could fully understand why -a then dying- Charles thought he would miss it, though he did have the good sense not to say so, not only because it would mean breaking the kiss to do so, but also because he knew it would bruise the Cat's surprisingly delicate sensibilities, which was something he did try to avoid.

Instead he just settled into that repositioning with a soft, curious, sound, taking only a bare moment to realize what it was the Cat was trying to do, or requesting -or both- before drawing lightly at the Cat's lower lip in turn, letting that whole new slew of sensations wash over him in the process, fingers trailing down to the Cat's nape again in the process, scratching gently at his hairline, partly reflex and partly to see -and subsequently catalog- what the response was.

It's the Cat's turn to make a sound into their kiss — not quite a moan but not completely a gasp, either, more like an amalgamation of both as he not only feels a shiver of delight race across his senses at the feeling of Edwin's nails against his flesh, but also at the idea of Edwin physically responding to him with more than just simply kissing back. By all accounts, he didn't even have to do that — he promised The Cat a kiss, not a reciprocation and certainly not a make-out session or anything like that... but as Edwin seems to be curiously cataloguing the way this feels, flourishing in the inexperience despite how intensely new this must all feel, the Cat can't help but be curious himself. How far will Edwin let him go? Will he be able to coax more of these out of him as a reward for being useful? Will it stop being an exchange and become something they just do, eventually?

His fingers slide down in featherlight touches to the elegant slope of Edwin's neck, trying to cling without clinging, because the feeling of his lip between both of Edwin's is impossibly good, and he's struggling to not let his mind run away with inspiration. Helplessly — because how could he have any hope of resisting the temptation when it's gone so well so far? — he opens his mouth a touch wider, letting the smallest flicker of his tongue lash out to taste Edwin's mouth.

Edwin reveled in having drawn that sound from the Cat, it was unexpectedly delightful, and he was already brimming with ideas of how to cause it again, even if it had been even partly put-on -and he wasn't going to rule that out- because he'd enjoyed having that sliver of power.

The slide of the Cat's fingers along his own neck was enough to have his lips parting on a quiet gasp, and that tease of the Cat's tongue had him freezing in place for a moment. Because while he knew that the Cat didn't actually intend to bite him -he was reasonably sure- and certainly had no intention of eating any part of him, and more than that had no way of knowing just how Edwin would react to teeth being brought into play, it was still enough to have his hand sliding down from the Cat's nape to press flat against his chest, not shoving him away but still a push all the same, sounding breathless as he managed a quiet: "That's quite enough of that."

There's another sound bubbling up in the Cat's throat the longer his mouth stays on Edwin's, the longer his nails stay pressed against his flesh, the longer Edwin lets him touch and touches him back-- and when he feels Edwin's hand move he hasn't quite noticed the tension suddenly stilling the ghost's frame until he feels his hand pushing at his chest.

The noise turns from what probably would have been a groan of encouragement, a gasp at the very least, into an outright whine as his lips leave Edwin's and his breath comes heaving out of him. Had he honestly forgot to breathe back there? Had he really been too focused on everything else that he almost put basic survival instinct to one side in favour of not letting the moment wain? Shit, he really does have it bad, doesn't he?

He tips his chin up, not repairing the kiss because Edwin had broken it for a reason, but not drawing back either. Because Edwin hadn't actually said stop, and though he'd pushed him back, he hadn't pushed him away. Either way, he might as well shoot his shot.

"Enough of what?" He asks, breath ghosting the scant space between them, flicking open eyes he didn't realise he'd closed to assess Edwin's face, to watch his kiss-bruised lips as he elaborates: "The kissing, or the tongue?"

"Both." It did take him a wildly-spinning moment of mental calculation to get even that much out, though once he'd actually started speaking he was less breathless than he had been at the outset, more sure of himself, enough so to actually elaborate in turn, since it wasn't entirely fair to only give the Cat partial information, "Though primarily the latter."

He knew he didn't owe the Cat anything more than that, but he also knew that if they were going to continue this kind of thing, and he had to believe that they were, if only because it was the Cat's chosen payment for assisting on cases -but also because he could see himself coming to crave the contact on some level as much as he would like to think otherwise- he considered only briefly before adding, a little more quietly though no less firm, "I will... react poorly to teeth being involved."

It was one of those things that he hadn't really considered would be combined, until just then, and the Cat hadn't even used teeth, only a tease of the tongue, and if that was all he'd intended to use, that would mean that Edwin had revealed a potential weakness, but it seemed to be the day for that, he hadn't needed to tell the Cat about the effects of ley-line magic on ghosts -though he likely would have guessed before long- but he had done anyway, a show of trust the same as this statement was.

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Ghostcat shenanigans

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will i remember to not use bracket tags when i post this, only time will tell

You did! Let's see if it happens a second time lol

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