Chapter Text
It was the year 2002, and he had known his best mate for thirteen years now and he was happy. Charles could barely fathom it, didn´t know one could be this happy, but he was. Life had never let him be genuinely happy, but in death, he had found it. He had found his happiness with Edwin Payne, running a detective agency and being fugitives from death.
Charles was smiling contently, scooting even closer to Edwin. They were sitting on the ruin of an old castle, in the middle of the wilderness watching the sun rise on the horizon. Charles pressed himself right next to his best mate, the close contact making him feel alive, even though all his senses were dulled due to him being very much dead. Edwin glanced over to him and pursed his lips lightly, yet he didn´t move away, didn´t even tense, just the opposite, in Charles humble opinion it even felt like Edwin was losing some of his tension, his back slumping slightly from his prim and proper posture.
If it had been in the beginning of their time together, Edwin would not have reacted like this. No, at the beginning he flinched at the mere thought of anyone unexpectedly touching him, would have tensed and immediately sprang back…
It had been a long way for both of them. Charles sighed, looking back, both of them had been severely touch starved, he a bit less than Edwin but still… The only touches he had had were roughhousing with his mates, and that still always meant bruises, which for him translated into, all touch is paired with pain… Like Edwin really, after seventy years of torture in hell. Never mind that Edwin hadn’t had a friendly human touch even years before that…
Yes it had taken time, lots and lots of time and honest talks.
The first time Charles had sidled closer and tried to grab Edwin´s shoulder to ask him something, the older nearly had a panic attack. Charles had felt horrible, flinching back himself, not knowing what to do, feeling hopeless and lost. In the end his only option were words, slowly gently coaxing his mate from where Edwin had curled up in a ball in the corner of the room. That had been the moment Charles had started to understand what escaping from hell truly meant. It was so nonchalantly said, but the true meaning, really understanding…well Charles was beginning to.
And that was also the moment his mindset, his goal of protecting Edwin Payne had been well and truly cemented in stone. That second he had decided to irrevocably devote his afterlife to Edwin Payne. To the boy who had crawled out of Hell yet instead of fleeing the place which had been the reason for his torment, had brought a lantern to a shivering boy, had stayed with him, reading him story even though death was sure to come any minute…
Charles was sure he wouldn´t have been able to do the same, so immensely sure there was no other braver, gentler soul anywhere to be found. And if that brave gentle soul allowed him so to be his protector, Charles would do everything and anything in his might to live up to such an impossible miracle.
So over the years they had slowly worked out what triggered each of them, had slowly worked past most of those, helped each other heal, helped each other cope, were there for each other in every dark hopeless night when the memories where too overwhelming, helped each other through panic attacks and flashbacks, through the anger, the fear and the frustration.
And Charles had a lot of anger to work through. Yes, at first glance it seemed like Edwin was the one needing the most help, but Charles was just as messed up.
He hadn´t been tortured in Hell, but since he could walk, he had been tortured by the very person who was supposed to nurture him, while his mother stood by and watched, not reacting at all to her son’s torment. Insisting nothing was wrong, and then when he finally escaped to boarding school, to his horror he was still surrounded by bullies. Yet somehow he managed to find a group of friends, only to be nearly stoned and killed by them when he was barely sixteen. Yes, he needed an anchor just as much as Edwin.
His anchor came in the form of a boy with a lantern, an angel in the darkness, chasing away the cold, in the form of detective stories and a soothing voice lightening him the way, soothing his fear.
At times the talking, really honestly sharing was hard, ending with them arguing and stilted silences. But never not once did they run out on each other, not once did either of them leave in anger.
Correction, not once did either of them leave, in anger or otherwise. No, no matter what emotions they were currently experiencing, no matter how much they were at their boiling point, the mere thought to walk away for even a minute was too excruciating to even contemplate. Should they have to calm down, they would simply separate into opposite corners of the room, maybe in worst cases turn their backs to each other, but that was really only in worst cases and maybe happened a handful of times, because well their separation anxiety was strong…overwhelmingly so.
Charles could never bear the thought of losing his Edwin. Knowing where Edwin was at all times was crucial. How else was he to protect him?! What if death found him, or even worse a demon?! He couldn’t protect his light when he was away?! What if something happened, what if Edwin got hurt?!
No, not something he could ever let happen before that he would throw himself at the danger first. Only after he had been beaten down over and over again, would the enemy even have the slightest chance to get anywhere close to Edwin. That he swore.
But as just described, this also translated to very interesting habits during arguments. Sometimes they couldn´t even bare being in different corners of the room, sometimes even fuming they would sit together on the couch, holding hands. Edwin scowling and huffing, eyes turned demonstrably away, while Charles was similarly wrought with tension, eyes still flashing even as he leaned a bit closer to the faint warmth of his best mate. Edwin would of course nudge him back, showing him he was still there.
In that one single night they had latched irrevocably onto each other, forever to be together, never to be parted not even by death´s hand. Codependent to its very definition.
And now they were here, sitting on the castle ruins, after successfully harvesting the ingredients a client had requested, enjoying the pink hues of the sun, while bathing in each other´s company. Charles gently laid his head on Edwin´s shoulder, liquid warmth filling him, when Edwin turned his head and softly nuzzled the hair tickling his face. Truly, all was well, Charles had never experienced such happiness. How could paradise ever compare? Heaven? No, thanks. This was very much already his very personal heaven, simply perfect.
They stayed there till the sun had fully risen, wishing to once more feel the sun’s rays, but at the same time so thankful ghosts could feel the touch of other ghosts, even if the senses weren´t as strong as they once were.
“Let´s depart. We promised to bring the last of the agreed upon ingredients later tonight.” Charles only nodded, rummaging in his backpack to find a mirror they could travel right back into their office with. And wasn´t that just, brills, even though it had been several years now since they had started the agency, Charles was still each and every time stoked. They had an office! An office of their own, for their very own detective agency! Utterly brills.
Their newest client had been an ancient witch. At first both ghosts had been naturally wary of the witch. They had had serval encounters with the witchy kind by now and, to say the least, they hadn´t been positive.
One such encounter had led to Charles frantically stocking up on any and every kind of weapon he could get his hands on, never wanting to experience the fear he had felt that night.
But still, they had given the woman a chance, hearing her out, not only because they hadn´t wanted to piss her off, but also because she had seemed rather trustworthy. And for now their intuition proved correct, they had had contact several times now and nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Martha, the witch, had learnt, as she had explained to them, nodding sagely, about a hundred years ago, to finally start delegating work, which had led her to the agency in hope of hiring them to find her rare and hard to come by potion ingredients as well as deal with a pesky ghost problem she had in her usual cemetery.
The ghost problem had been a rather easy, if tedious fix, and now they completed the hike into the middle of nowhere to get her a rare sunflower. With a last delivery the job was about to be jobbed.
Charles was already looking forward to a well-earned post job treat. Normally that meant they would curl up together on the couch. Edwin would find himself a book he was dying, pun intended, to get his hands on and read aloud, while Charles would find a comfortable spot, nuzzle Edwin like a cat and listen to that soothing voice which brought him peace like nothing else.
The book really didn’t matter to Charles, ever considerate of his partner, Edwin had at first tried to find books he thought Charles would enjoy, but Charles had reassured him swiftly. It really didn´t much matter what Edwin was reading to him, most of the time, he didn´t even fully register the words, only let them wash over him in a soothing shower of warmth.
But tonight Charles had requested a reading of Sherlock Holmes, a special request, and Edwin was more than happy to comply. Which was the reason Charles was being extra bubbly, grinning from ear to ear. Edwin noticing the mood of his companion, smiled, which was another huge win in Charle´s books, getting the older teen to smile was not an easy task and each time it happened, he celebrated. His mood getting even brighter.
Back in London, the night couldn’t come early enough. They didn´t question the reason Martha had specifically requested they bring the last of the ingredients tonight after sundown, believing her, she would be otherwise engaged before that and didn’t want them to interfere with a working. Maybe they should have…
Charles was light on his feet, happily humming a song, while he rang the bell of the witches little cottage. It was located just as if it was playing right into the cliches, on the edge of a forest in a small town outside London. It was quaint and lovely, covered as it was with flowers, veins, and all sorts of other plants, like right out of a fairytale.
Edwin was a step behind Charles, carrying the basket with the ingredients. Predictably Charles had wanted to be the one to carry the basket, always fulfilled when he could feel useful, always overjoyed when he could be of assistance to Edwin in any way. But Edwin had been stubborn, insisting he would carry the delicate flowers, wanting to be sure they made the mirror travel safely.
Which led to now, the witch giving them a shout to walk around the house to find her in the garden and Charles carefully snatching up the basket to carry it himself the second Edwin was distracted. Puffing up his chest, proud at his maneuver, the Edwardian teen merely rolled his eyes, following Charles as he led the way into the back garden.
They stepped through an ornate looking arch, decorated with roses, and immediately noticed Martha standing by a small bonfire, dressed in one of her floor-length dresses, her long hair braided with veins, grinning joyfully. “There you boys are. Have you brought me my flowers?”
“Yes, miss as promised here are the rest of your requested items.” Charles set the basket down on a nearby garden table, letting her inspect it for a moment. She nodded satisfied. “Very well, then here are you rewards.” She snapped her fingers, and a book appeared on the table.
“Rewards?,” Edwin prompted puzzled. “I believe we only agreed on the spell book?”
“Oh yes, we did my dear. But you see, I have grown rather fond of you, and you did such an amazing job, I decided on giving you an additional reward.” She clapped, nodding pleased. Charles having quickly placed the book in his backpack took a few steps back to be level with Edwin, somehow having a bit of a wonky feeling in his gut. Edwin must have felt the same, because he tried to politely decline, “That really is not necessary, miss. We were happy to be of service.” Unexpected gifts from strangers never mind witches, never brought anything good. But she simply waved his objections away.
“Ach hotchpotch, no you darlings deserve something else. And just as luck has it, I have found the perfect spell I can gift you with. You see, in my recent scrying sessions I had contact with such a delightful world, the bonds between couples there were just marvelous. They made me think of you two right away.” Now that sounded rather ominous. Edwin and Charles exchanged a quick look, a whole conversation running between them, both more than ready to get out, but both fearing for much worse should they deny her.
“And as such, I have found just the spell to bind you even closer to each other.” Smiling sagely to herself, seemingly not noticing the growing restlessness of her guests. “I noticed just how attached you are to each other, running from death, pledging to stay together for all eternity. How romantic.” Edwin inhaled startled, Charles tensed, his hand itching to grab for his cricket bat.
“Really that is not necessary, we are happy as is,” Charles threw in, trying to make her stop, whatever she was doing, as she had, while talking, started drawing several glowing symbols into the air. “Oh, no honey, no backing out now!”
One careless snip of her fingers and they were unable to move. Completely frozen, not even able to blink.
Charles wanted to scream, fear bubbling in his gut followed by anger at how vulnerable they were, at how vulnerable Edwin was. He fought, but couldn´t even move an inch. Having to settle for glaring at the witch and pleading with his eyes for her not to hurt Edwin.
“Now now, don´t be so dramatic. This will not hurt…well maybe it will, to be quite honest, I am not sure. But what I am certain of, is that this ritual, this spell will not work, not even a tiny bit,” she made a motion with her fingers, pinching them together, as if trying to lighten the atmosphere by joking. Charles wanted to slap her. “Yes yes no need to glare, as I was saying, this spell will not have even the slightest effect if you two are not compatible, if your souls do not belong together, if you do not fit like puzzle pieces, then nothing will happen. Nothing at all, so no need to fear an unwilling bond.”
As if that was supposed to reassure them, Charles was certain that Edwin was his everything, of course they would be compatible, not even worth contemplating anything else, making her whole talk unnecessary.
“But if you are compatible. Well depending on how much…, I have high hopes.” That was all she explained, before she finally started chanting. Her voice rising and falling in a low current, each word brimming with more and more energy. Magic was visibly rising in the air, making it crackle, making the pressure rise. Even Edwin and Charles fully immobile, were able to feel the magic pressing them down, down into the earth.
Charles strained again, trying, and failing to reach out. Even the slightest of touches from Edwin would have calmed some of his panic. But he could only watch the magic built further and further.
The chanting grew louder. The bonfire was brightly lighting up. The flames reaching into the sky, further and further up. Then Martha suddenly threw her hands forward, physically throwing the ball of magic towards the ghosts.
Charles was hit square in the chest, being thrown back, his frozen state overwritten, landing on his back. All the air pressed out of his lungs. For a second he was completely disoriented, the magic buzzing through his veins like a swarm of angry bees. The light having blinded him, he could only see white flashes. A loud ringing in his ears, he lay there on the grass not moving.
Only for his thoughts to suddenly rush back into his mind.
Edwin!
He scrambled to his knees, swaying and unsteady, blinking back spots, wildly searching.
Edwin!
There, he had been thrown back as well, lying on his side, still out of it, blinking rapidly and twitching weakly.
Charles jumped up, only for vertigo to take him down right away. The world spun sharply, more spots overrunning his vision. He ignored it, scrambled forward on hands and knees.
He could not hear! Couldn’t hear himself desperately calling out to Edwin, nor could he hear the older teens mouth moving as he was weakly trying to sit up.
Then a barrier. An invisible barrier was suddenly cutting off his path, surrounding him, stopping him from crawling any closer. Separating him from Edwin. Blind panic filled him, he screamed, pounding against the wall, heart beating out of his chest. He dragged himself along the barrier, trying to find the end.
No! No! No! He couldn’t get to Edwin.
It was surrounding him on all sides. He started hammering again, his fists pressing against the barrier. There was still the insistent buzzing in his ears. Everything muted, everything but Edwin.
Edwin, who had painstakingly managed to sit up, wobbled horribly, pale as a sheet. Yet had managed to drag himself over, pressing against the barrier as well. Calling his name. Panic, fear clear in his eyes. It tore Charles into tiny pieces, his heart being ripped into pieces. He could do nothing but try and find a way in.
“Now, now. Darlings, no need for such display.” All at once the sounds came back and with it the awareness of his surroundings. Charles ripped around, eyes fixating on the reason for their torment. He snarled. Ready to force his legs to work and beat the shit out of the woman who was hurting his Edwin. Who had caged him. Unforgivable!
Seemingly knowing, or finally correctly reading their facial expressions, she tried to calm them down, but not before putting another shimmering barrier between the boys and her. Apparently she had at least some sense of what Charles was capable of should anyone hurt his light. “No need for this. This is all part of the bonding spell. Obviously, it is working. Very well, I might add.”
Any further talking was once more halted, as Edwin suddenly screamed in agony. Charles was immediately fixated solely on his partner, crying out to him. “Edwin!”
But Edwin couldn’t answer, couldn’t do anything but writhe in pain. Clutching his chest, he fell down once more. Curling up into a ball, he whimpered, keening helplessly. Tears streaming down his face.
Edwin was desperately trying to reach out to Charles, the barrier preventing it. The pain must be excruciating for him to show it so openly. Edwin knew pain, had a scarily high pain tolerance. Charles grew even more mindless.
He began pounding against the barrier again. His fists bloody, skin broken, bones scrunching underneath the fury he put into each punch. He was manic. There was nothing to help. He couldn´t get to the witch, couldn’t reach his bag, couldn´t reach Edwin… He howled his anguish into the sky.
And without missing a beat turned to pleading. “Please! Please, please he is in pain. Please, help him. I beg you!,” his voice a raw hysterical warble.
The witch remained silent, unmoving, simply watching. No matter how much Charles tried to reason with her, she remained unresponsive.
His heart was being tortured. Edwin was writhering on the ground, pressed as close to the barrier and to Charles as possible, whimpering in agony. Broken sounds escaping his lips.
“Edwin, Edwin, please…please hold on. Please…”
Charles snarled, his eyes flashing with pure unaltered rage. Everything in him keyed on Edwin and his untamable wish to protect him, to keep him safe, to be close to him always, making him a mindless beast. No other thoughts but to keep pounding against the barrier, no concern for his own wellbeing, he furiously rammed himself against the barrier again and again and again. Not stopping, not halting, not taking stock of his battered body. He fiercely kept his eyes on Edwin. Each whimper making him put even more force into the next punch. He couldn´t feel his own pain, Edwin´s stabbing him through his heart.
Then suddenly, something seemed to crack. A loud crash and with one last full body slam the barrier broken, shattering like glass.
Charles barely managed to brace himself with his elbows. The momentum leading him to collapse right over Edwin.
Limbs shaking horribly, he gathered the older into his arms. Pulling him up and against his heart, sparling him over his lap. “Edwin, Edwin…”
Edwin could merely twitch, a weak hand coming up to desperately claw at Charles jacket. Another whimper, but this time quieter, less pain now that he was in the arms of his anchor. “Shhh, I´m here, I´m here…” Softly rocking them from side to side, Charles tenderly tugged some of the hair out of his pale face.
Then pressing him impossibly close to his chest, he once more turned towards the witch, glaring, baring his teeth viciously. Daring her to step even one step closer. He would rip out her throat with his teeth.
Yet before he could make a demand, the magic sparked once more. Flashing between the ghosts, connecting their hearts with a blinding thread made out of pure light.
For a second they were surrounded by a bubble of pure magic, were filled with such an eternal heavenly feeling of connection, of love, both unwillingly smiled in content, but just as sudden as it had happened it vanished again, taken their consciousness with them. They slumped over in a dead faint.
Yet even out cold Charles was still frantically clutching Edwin to him, his arms not having loosened in the slightest. Edwin was the same. He too was still even in unconsciousness giving it his all to stay connected to his Charles.
Martha was speechless. What had she just witnessed?! That was not at all what she had expected. Those two…they weren´t merely compatible, they must have been closely tied soulmates to elicit such a reaction.
Tentatively waving a hand over the pair she waited for her magic to give her a diagnosis, gasping loudly at the result. Well…maybe she had meddled with things, she should have left alone. Woopsy, daisy.
Tugging on a braid, her mind was racing. Well, no matter now. She could only help them in the aftermath, after all that was the least she could do after her reward had turned out so spectacular. Nodding decidedly, she set to healing the pair of them, especially Charles needed it, having nearly destroyed his body trying to break the barrier. And then, she would have to find them a nice place to stay for a while, somewhere remote and secluded, somewhere safe. Yes, that was exactly what she would do.
Happy with her decision, she hummed. My, my what an interesting evening this had shaped out to be. She was sure the boys would be satisfied in the end as well, maybe not immediately, but in a few years they would surely thank her.