Ghostcat shenanigans

[technicallyhellbound]

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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[catting]

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."

[technicallyhellbound]

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."

[catting]

"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~"

[technicallyhellbound]

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."

[catting]

[ 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?

[technicallyhellbound]

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."

[catting]

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.

[technicallyhellbound]

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.