Chapter Text
‘Your theory is…sound. But I don’t quite understand why you would want to offer me this. It is still a theory as well, and not without risk.”
“True,” said the Cat King. “But nothing worth doing is without a bit of risk.” He paced around Edwin, sweeping his eyes up and down him. “If I don’t fight you - which I don’t intend to,” he smiled toothily, “Then no crime has been committed. And besides, the prohibition is against ghosts possessing humans. And I’m not human.” He smiled wide enough to display his pointed canines, golden eyes flashing with mirth.
They were standing in a mostly empty flat in Central London where Cat had taken up residence for the time being. They had seen each other a few times since his relocation, and Cat had even been helpful on a case or two. But there was still a great deal of tension between them.
“That still doesn’t explain why you are offering to let me possess you. That is simply the logic for why I may not get into trouble for doing so,” said Edwin as he pinched his hands into fists and stood with his back soldier-straight.
Cat was wearing his trademark garish attire of a calf-length skirt and a black mesh shirt, with the addition of cropped black faux fur coat. He was prowling around Edwin, looking him over with open lasciviousness. “Because you deserve to feel, Edwin. I know that you have known mostly pain for far, far too long.” He stopped in front of him. “Let me take some of that away for a short while, hmmm?” Then he leaned in and whispered into Edwin’s ear, “I’d love to have you inside me.”
There were moments when Edwin doubted his own sexuality, wondering instead if he was just the sort to not be with anyone. But then Cat or Charles would do something that would cause a visceral reaction even though he was not, in fact, in possession of any viscera. Now was one of those moments. Cat’s words, coated in double entendre, made him draw in a sharp breath he didn’t need.
“Are you so desperate for intimacy? Is that why you came up with this scheme?” barked Edwin, the snarkiness a reaction to him feeling off-balance.
“Oh, ouch,” said Cat dramatically as he pressed a hand to his chest. “You’re lucky I like it when you’re a bitch.”
Edwin’s cheeks flushed and even though it was difficult he stood up even straighter. “I apologize. That was rude of me.”
“I can’t stay mad at you,” said Cat as he reached up to straighten Edwin’s bowtie. “Come on. Admit it. You’re curious. You want to know what it’s like to feel alive again. Think of it as an academic exercise. You’d also get to know what it felt to be something other than human. Surely that could come in handy with your work?” He gave Edwin a pouty, begging sort of look, his eyes as puppyish as a cat could make them.
Edwin was very, very tempted. His recent trip to Hell had reintroduced him to the concept of pain, as had Esther’s subsequent torture. That had been the only thing he’d felt in decades, and he did long for the more pleasurable and pleasant types of sensations of the sort the Cat King was now offering.
The other part he refused to admit to himself was that he was deeply curious to know what it would be like to be him, in particular. There was no use denying his attraction, or his fascination - which fell into step with his annoyance and distrust. “If we do this…”
Cat’s face lit up.
“...what are the ground rules?” finished Edwin.
“Ground rules?”
“Yes, what am I allowed to do? What is off-limits? There simply must be rules,” said Edwin.
“Must there?” said Cat. “I trust you, Edwin. You wouldn’t do anything improper, more’s the pity,” he drawled. “But if you wanted to be improper, you have my permission.” He extended his arms.
“For what, exactly?” asked Edwin.
“Surprise me,” said Cat, his eyes flashing with excitement. “I know you’re not…worldly when it comes to things of a physical nature. How could you be? I can’t imagine you’d do anything I wouldn’t gladly do myself.”
Edwin had to admit that was likely true. Still, “If we do this I don’t intend to get frisky in your body, if that’s what you’re implying!”
Cat could tell Edwin’s resolve was wearing down, and it made him more and more pleased. “Of course you don’t intend to,” he said, with a particularly long, drawn-out purr over the word intend. “Besides, you can always talk to me. If you don’t push me aside, I’ll be able to see and hear everything. If you somehow start doing something I don’t like, I’ll be able to tell you.”
Edwin wanted a very good and logical reason to say no. But Cat had systematically removed any and all obstacles. Cat knew he was tempted, knew some part of him wanted to do it. So without any real and solid reasons to reject it…
“All right.”
Cat clapped and did a little dance.
“But at the first sign of trouble…” Edwin held up a finger.
“...I’ll kick you out. Believe me, I don’t want to draw unwanted attention either.” Cat cleared his throat, rolled his shoulders back and held his arms out. “Go ahead.”
“Right now? Oh my.” Edwin swallowed. He realized too late he should have negotiated some time to think about it. But then he prepared himself by rolling his neck and focusing on Cat. He’d only possessed people a handful of times, and usually in desperate circumstances. That led to both he and Charles having to escape quite quickly, usually through a mirror, as the possession of a human drew immediate attention of Lost and Found.
But now he and Charles were working for Lost and Found, and Cat’s theory about him both not fighting it and being nonhuman made sense to Edwin from what he knew of the rules. It was the psychic struggle with a human soul that raised alarm bells, and Cat’s plan involved neither a struggle nor a human soul.
Edwin could no longer delay the possession. He either had to jump into Cat’s body, or walk away. His academic’s brain was too curious about the experience on offer to do the latter. So, after shaking his lanky limbs out and preparing himself, he strode forward and willed himself into Cat’s body, rather than manifesting solidness or passing through him.
The experience of possessing Cat immediately felt different. Normally, when a ghost entered a human’s body, their consciousness reacted like white blood cells fighting an infection. The fight was instinctual and immediate, and it usually left little time for a ghost to direct the human’s actions before being expelled. But Cat wanted him in his body, so there was no resistance.
Everything was dark for a moment, but then Edwin felt himself slide under Cat’s skin. He opened his eyes and drew in a lungful of air. The sensation of breathing nearly overwhelmed him. He found himself alone in the flat, surrounded by makeshift furniture and dropcloths. He looked down at his hands, which were stronger and bigger than his slim academic’s hands. He touched his cheeks and found short fur that looked like stubble but felt like a cat’s. His vision was preternaturally sharp. As he looked into the shadows, his eyes shifted as his pupils dilated as night vision momentarily kicked in.
As Edwin got used to seeing through Cat’s eyes and breathing again, he started to become more aware of his body. As his weight shifted, he felt the leather skirt bounce against his thighs. The soft fur of the cropped jacket brushed his cheek as he turned his head. As he took a step forward, he became suddenly and acutely aware that he was commando underneath the skirt.
“Cat? Can you hear me?” said Edwin aloud. The feeling of a voice not his own vibrating in his chest was both intoxicating and disconcerting. “Wait, what happened to my accent? I sound exactly like you.”
Muscle memory, I guess. Probably a good thing. In case you run into anyone I know. They’d think I was pulling a Madonna if I suddenly sounded all posh.
Hearing Cat’s voice in his head reassured Edwin that something hadn’t gone horribly wrong. He sounded calm and amused. “You knew you were going to offer me this. The least you could have done is put on pants.”
Cat just chuckled.
Edwin clasped Cat’s hands into fists. It was his unconscious, tense habit that he’d had even when he was alive. But in ghostly form, he didn’t really feel it. He was not used to the sensation, nor the strength of his current hands. “So what shall I do now?” he asked the air.
Anything you want.
“That is entirely unhelpful,” said Edwin as he took an experimental step forward. He tried a few more steps to get used to the feeling of motion, as well as the soft breeze that flowed up under the skirt with each step.
Well. You could go see Charles.
Something about the sing-song note in Cat’s inner voice made Edwin suspicious. “What are you up to?”
There was no answer. He could tell that Cat’s consciousness had receded. He was no longer observing every little thing, but he could tell he was aware.
“Bollocks,” he muttered to himself in an American accent. Then Edwin headed for the door. There was no handy mirror traversal to get him back to the office quickly, and although he could feel Cat’s magic, he didn’t yet know how to access it. So he was left with walking. It was a decent walk - twenty minutes or so. It hadn’t seemed like much when he was considering it, but as he moved down the crowded London streets, he started to think he might have made a mistake.
People were looking at him. Not just because he was currently inhabiting a living body, but because of the outrageous way he was dressed. Edwin only got the full measure of it when he passed by a reflective office building and saw himself as the world saw him. The outfit should have been utterly ridiculous, but it somehow worked - although less so with him at the helm as he didn’t carry himself with the same swaggering confidence of the body’s rightful owner.
It wasn’t just the wild dress that drew peoples’ attention. If that had been the only feature of the way Edwin currently looked, he would have been greeted with sneers and obvious attempts to look away.
But Cat was, in Edwin’s estimation, exceptionally handsome. The eccentric clothing just drew peoples’ eyes to him and made them realize that fact. Men and women openly admired him, though some did immediately avert their eyes.
The eyes of the London crowds did go some way to keeping Edwin’s attention off the dozens of new sensations being embodied gave him. He could smell the fumes of the cars as they passed. He felt a breeze rattle down the street and curl up around his ankles and under his skirt. When the breeze faded, he felt his forehead cooled from where it had tickled a thin sheen of sweat.
Now that he was moving, Edwin found the faux fur coat much too warm. He walked about a block with sweat trickling down his back before he was forced to remove it. That left him feeling very exposed, as the mesh shirt turned out to be partially open in the back and had short sleeves.
A pair of gay men walked. One did a little vogue-like spin on the spot, gave him a once-over over the top of heart-shaped sunglasses, then snapped at him in appreciation.
Edwin just smiled awkwardly, nodded at them, and quickened his step.
Finally, Edwin made it back to the office. He was never so glad to be off the street and away from people. He mounted the stairs and stepped forward. He stopped just short of colliding with the frosted glass of the Dead Boy Detective Agency door before he realized oh yes, he had a body. No phasing through things for the immediate future.
Fortunately, the door was unlocked. He entered, then promptly leaned against the closed door. He turned the lock and threw the fur coat on a nearby chair. Edwin buried his face in his hands, fingers trickling over his soft, fur-like hair. “I don’t think I can do this,” he murmured to himself.
“Uh, hey.”
That wasn’t Charles’ voice.
Edwin looked up to see Monty standing there.
“What are you doing here?” And then he remembered the last time they’d seen each other. “You’ve got some nerve coming here.” Edwin stepped forward.
Monty stepped backward and smiled nervously. “Edwin, it’s me.”
Edwin stopped and stared at Monty. “You know who I really am?”
“Yes. Um. Well, you see. I’m not Monty. It’s me. Charles.”
Edwin’s eyes widened. “Charles?” he said incredulously.
“This is fucking aces, isn’t it?” Then Monty-Charles looked to the side and chuckled. “Feels wrong to curse with this voice. And say aces. I’ll have to watch myself.” He clears his throat, and then said in a far more Monty-ish way, “Isn’t this great?”
The scheme, it seemed was much bigger than the Cat King offering him a temptation. Somehow, he’d roped Charles and Monty into it as well.
“Well,” said Edwin tightly. “This should be interesting.”