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Late one August night, Edwin can't help his attention be called by a howling coming from the alley behind their office. It was a strange howling, something like a scream and a beckon. It was familiar in some way, too, though he couldn't place it. He glances around the office- Crystal had gone to bed hours prior and Charles was off trying to win over the Night Nurse with some detective-ing. Edwin had elected to stay behind and tie up loose ends on their last case.
But that howling... it was calling him, he felt.
He stands and passes through their mirror, stumbling out into the alley without a second thought.
The howling had stopped completely. He narrows his eyes and steps forward, dusting himself off as he peers around a dumpster.
A black cat sits in the middle of the alleyway, illuminated by a street light like he was under a spot.
"Wait a tick, are you-"
Before he can finish his question, the cat is devoured by a puff of purple smoke, sparks flying off before the Cat King appears before him. He has a coy smile on his face, his fancy dress not something Edwin would have thought he'd wear in an alley such as this one.
"Long time no see," he drawls on, that coy smile flickering as he darts his eyes up and down Edwin's body. He struts his shit towards Edwin, teasing his fingertips down his lapels. "Did you miss me? Wait- don't answer that... I know you did."
"You will be sorely mistaken to think that," Edwin says, raising an eyebrow and stepping back. "I thought," he continues, shaking out his coat and popping his collar, "we had come to an understanding, but clearly we had not."
Something like sadness flickers over the Cat King's face. "I... had thought so, too. Edwin, what is the truth? You didn't want to see me again, or you wanted to see me again? Because I'm getting all sorts of mixed singles here." He twirls his hand through the air, as if to say Edwin was running him around.
He opens his mouth and closes it, not wanting to misspeak. He didn't want another bracelet like he'd been given the last time, so he lies. "I- I very much so did wish to see you again, however-"
"Hold on," the Cat King says, pressing a finger to Edwin's lips. "Shut up," he says, much softer. "I can smell the lie on your tongue." He sighs and scratches softly down Edwin's lips like he had back at the lighthouse. "Did you miss me?"
He knew it was the truth spell before the words left his mouth on impulse. "No, just the feelings you awoke in me."
The Cat King nods sagely, somewhat sad Edwin thinks. "I see... Well, that wasn't so difficult, was it?" He takes a step back and Edwin feels panic take over.
"Wait-!" He reaches for the Cat King's sleeve, but he takes a step back and drops in a puff of smoke. A black cat pouncing away. Edwin presses a gloved hand to his lips, unable to keep the fear inside himself at a simmer.
--
He had spent hours searching for a book- a compendium, a grimoire, anything- to fix this spell. He'd had no luck, a running commentary of swears and defeat spilling from the lips the Cat King had pried open with those dastardly claws of his.
"Why does no one make a book of very specific and in depth cat curses? Don't we find ourselves dealing with them regularly enough? Perhaps no one has ever had to deal with the Cat King like I have. He'd be delusional to think I find that a compliment. Where in the bloody hell is my damn- Ah, there it is. Felines and Furry Fixes."
The sun is starting to rise when Charles returns. Edwin had lost himself completely in the book, not even noticing when Charles returned. That is, until he's asked a question and feels the answer slip from between his lips before he even knows what he was asked.
"What've you been up to, mate?" Charles asks, flopping down onto the couch and crossing his legs.
"I'm trying to figure out how to remove this bloody spell that the Cat King put on me last night."
Charles sits up, and Edwin's face flashes fear before he meets Charles' look. "The Cat King? He came here and- What did he do to you?" his voice goes rigid at the end, dripping with anger as he reaches for his cricket bat in his bag.
"You don't see it?" Edwin asks, pointing at the golden scratch across his mouth. He could feel it, like a burn. "It forces me to tell the truth. I cannot be walking around saying every single thought that enters my head, Charles. I am so rude in my head, and not to mention how often I think of you touching me and the words I must say to keep myself from going on about how attractive I find you." His eyes widen more and more as he keeps talking, unable to stop. When the words finally end, he's taking shaky breaths. He wants to apologize, but instead he says, "I'm not sorry for saying that, I mean it. That and so much more."
"Stop talking," Charles says, holding up a hand. "You're just gonna say more stuff you don't want to. That's your business, not mine, yeah?" He stands and paces one way a few steps, swinging the bat around before pacing the other way, towards Edwin. "Alright, how about... we just agree to... I won't hold anything you say against you." He points at Edwin with the bat and-
"That is so hot and kind of you, Charles." He clasps his hands over his mouth, shrinking into himself just a bit. "I don't want you to know I think these things, it's going to change how you look at me, and then I'm going to spend all of my afterlife alone, which will be worse than hell because I will know I am missing you." He tries to cover his mouth more and more as the words leave, muffling them, but unable to stop them.
Charles' arm had dropped and his face was a mix of shock and something Edwin had never seen before. "Oi," he says, as if snapping them both out of the stupor, "just try not to talk and maybe the words won't happen."
"That won't work," Edwin says, "I'm always thinking about what I want to say to you."
"Okay," Charles says with a sigh. "Surely we can... figure something out, yeah?"
"I highly doubt it, seeing as I've been looking through these books all bloody fucking night!"
--
Charlie, the Night Nurse, returns during the day with a stack of paperwork. Before she can explain the work she'd begrudgingly gathered for Edwin to sort through, he speaks. Because he can't help it. "I do hope you don't expect me to give a damn about any of that right now, I've been stuck with this fucking truth curse from the Cat King."
Charles groans as he flops about on the floor. "We've nearly read through every single book and not a damn hex-fix or curse-cure had helped."
"That's not entirely true, we have gotten rid of my golden scar," Edwin prattles onward. "But I cannot hold my tongue any better. Oh, look at me fucking go again, saying every single thought that enters my head!" He stomps around a little, not unlike a child having a temper tantrum.
The Night Nurse raises an eyebrow as she looks at him. "Hm..." She glances between him and the stack of papers. "So much work to do, and you two are distracted by this nonsense. Can't you just-"
"This is incredibly important," Charles says, cutting her off before she can suggest they leave Edwin like that. "We can't have him telling ghosts exactly what he thinks all the time. Sometimes we have to lie. To clients as well as ghosts we're trying to help."
"Imagine, for a moment if you will, a world where I'm trying to exorcise a demon and I have to answer every bloody tricky question they ask me instead of EXORCISING THE DAMN THING!" His voice raises as he speaks until he's shouting, grabbing a pillow off the couch to squeeze in his hands. "EITHER HELP ME OR GET THE FUCK OUT!"
Charlie looks as if she has more to say, but the shock on her face is evident. "Alright," she says with a curt little nod before disappearing into a puff of smoke.
"That was so unbelievably rude of me," Edwin groans and drags his hands down his face as he sits on the couch. "I mean, it's not as if I didn't mean it, obviously, but she does help us. I just hate that it isn't simply the two of us anymore. I like Crystal and I can stand Charlie well enough, but Charles, I do wish it were just you."
Charles laughs as he joins Edwin on the couch, clapping a hand over his shoulder. "Mate-"
"I do love it when you touch me," Edwin puts his face in his hands, he knew whatever he was about to say was unavoidable. But nothing else comes out. "Oh, I thought I had more to say about that. Like how I wish you would touch me more. Goddamn it, goddamn it all to fucking hell what the fuck is wrong with me?!"
Charles laughs again and rubs his hand against Edwin's back. "Don't sweat it, Edwin. I don't give half a mind. I actually think this is pretty funny-"
"No," Edwin cuts him off, looking up and dropping his hands to speak with. There was no point in trying to stifle himself when every thought found its way out of his lips. "This isn't funny, Charles. This is a nightmare for me! I have so much that I cannot tell you about, would you find it funny if I were to make passes at you? Like how you do with Crystal?"
"I don't know," Charles shrugs, and he's no longer laughing but his voice isn't quite sympathetic nor without humor. "Give it a try, and I'll let you know how it makes me feel."
"I do not hate you, but sometimes you make me wish I could strangle you to death."
Charles laughs at that and gives Edwin a goofy little smile.
"Oh, I do wish I could kiss you." His eyes widen slightly and if he had a heart he knew it would be racing.
Charles' eyes widen just a bit, and then he leans back. Edwin thinks he's going to speak, but he stands instead. Each step he takes as he starts to pace has his loafers making a noise against their hardwood.
"I knew it would make you uncomfortable," Edwin says. "I didn't even want to make that pass at you. I want to kiss you- that much is true, undeniably. I wish to kiss you and hold you, or be held by you. I think I would let you do that. I desire it, in fact. But... I don't want you to know about these things because you do not feel that way for me. I told you I was in love with you because I quite possibly had nothing to lose, but I was already going to tell you how I felt. After we hugged, and you told me what little bit you did about your dad, I knew I needed to tell you how I felt."
Charles turns, very suddenly, towards Edwin. "You're wrong," he says, and it seems like he might say more. But he doesn't.
"Charles, it hardly seems fair to me that I must say every damn thought I have whilst you get to think through yours and only give me crumbs of what you mean. Either speak to me with some respect, or I will go find the fucking Cat King and... I don't know, make him fix me."
"You're not broken, mate," Charles starts with, because to him it was the most important part. "And- Listen, I'm not... like, trying to be mean or unfair or whatever to you... I just..." He sighs and sits at Edwin's desk, the chair spinning him in a circle before he stops it. He looks at Edwin and there's something so perplexing on his face.
"You're vexed," Edwin says.
"I'm... thinking," Charles corrects him. He opens his mouth to say more, but the office door swings open as Crystal enters in a flurry. She's got a bag of hot food with coffee and her coat only half on.
"Hi guys, sorry I'm late," she starts her usual greeting before Edwin interrupts.
"GOD BLOODY DAMN IT!" He smacks his fists down against the couch. "Charles was going to speak before you fucking broke in! What if he was going to say he liked me back? It's as if your fondest goal is to ruin everything I love," Edwin accuses.
Crystal takes a step back, the offense clear on her face. "Okay. What the fuck. What the fuck?" She turns to Charles. "Is he losing his mind, or is coming down from doing crack?"
"The Cat King paid him a visit and gave him the truth spell again. He didn't mean what he said-" Charles starts.
"If it's called a truth spell," Crystal says, "I'm pretty sure that means he did."
Edwin groans and throws his head back against the couch. "No, Charles is right. In a way. It's a truth spell, but it only makes me speak what I believe is true. I cannot say things I don't know or believe. I was angry in that moment and it felt true. My truth was wanting to hurt you out of anger, I suppose." He sighs and looks at Crystal. "I do value you as a friend, and a business partner. So, I apologize, even though I wish I didn't have to."
Crystal takes her coat off and moves into the room, shaking her head. "Thank you... I think." She speaks as she eats the blueberry muffin. "So, how do we fix him?"
"That's disgusting," Edwin says at the same time Charles says, "Oi, he's not broken."
She sticks her tongue out at Edwin with a smarmy look. "Okay, he's not broken. But he still needs to be un-cursed or whatever. So, where do we start?"
"We started hours ago," Edwin says. "I started last bloody night, and now it's nearly been all fucking day. We've read every single book in here- most of them twice! Beside seeing the Cat King again, I don't see there as being anything more we can do. I will... simply have to adjust, I suppose."
"Nonsense," Charles says. "We haven't been to the library."
"I refuse to step into public," Edwin says.
Charles smiles a bit, and Edwin knows he still finds this whole ordeal fucking hilarious. "Okay, how about me and Crystal go check it out. We see if we can find anything. We'll look online, too."
"Do not," Edwin says, pointing an accusatory finger at Charles, "leave me alone. Much as I would prefer to not have anyone hear me right now, I would not know what to do with myself without you. I never do."
"That's oddly sweet," Crystal says. "Yeah, alright. I'll go check the library myself and... look around town. You two seem like you should be along together anyway." Her words taper off into mumbles as she leaves.
Edwin's eyes dart to Charles and there's a moment where neither of them speak.
"You're gonna ask what I was going to say, aren't you?"
"I was about to, but trying not to," Edwin says. "What was it? That you were going to say."
Charles sighs. "I'm not, like, sure exactly what I was gonna say, but I know it was about you comin' on to me, and I didn't dislike it." He spins a few times around in the chair, before standing up and stumbling a step.
"But you see why it isn't something I should be doing, right? It made you, as well as myself, uncomfortable."
Charles shakes his head, and steps towards Edwin, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Mate, no it didn't. See me? I'm, like, as least uncomfortable as I've ever been. You're always kind of uncomfortable, so that doesn't count. I like when you say what you think and feel- given, you're sometimes a bit... unkind with it, but I like it."
"Charles, do not say these things to me with your hand on me like that. I'm already in love with you, and I fear what kinds of new excitement you might bring into my life." His body was rigid, he was hoping he could speak around the word "boner", not that he had one but he didn't want to get one.
There's a beat where Edwin fears being asked any kind of questions, but then Charles sinks down, sitting next to Edwin on the couch, and hugs him so tightly he feels as if all the air from his lungs has been pushed out. "I don't know," Charles whispers in Edwin's ear.
Edwin pushes him away to look at him. "What don't you know?"
Charles' look is more pensive than it had been before. He pulls away and fiddles with his hands in his lap. "I don't know if I like guys... I mean, I know I get hot when I see a pretty girl, but a bloke's just never done it for me. I love you, Edwin, I really do. You... make me feel everything, and you're the most I've ever loved anyone in my life. But-, Edwin. I don't know." He looks up, only for a moment. "How did you know?"
"I've always known," Edwin admits. "It was my deepest secret, my worst fear. I was taught never to speak of it. So, I didn't. I spent nearly seventeen years trying not to think of it, even. Then I spent seventy years with everything I'd ever known of so far from my thoughts. Sometimes..." He sighs, and reaches out to grab Charles' hand. "Sometimes, in hell, I would think of it. Not often, but sometimes I would think of what life I'd had and wish for a chance to have something of the semblance back. It carried me through, and when I escaped I... saw that nothing had really changed despite the fact that everything had changed."
"Yeah, the eighties weren't so great either." Charles chuckles a bit, but gives Edwin's hand a squeeze.
"So, I chose not to let myself feel those things. Not to think of them. Never to speak of them. And then... in Port Townsend, I met the Cat King. He spoke to me," Edwin says, leaning towards Charles until his lips were brushing his cheek, by his ear, "like this," he whispers and lingers for a moment before pulling away. "And he dressed in a way I had never seen before, laid himself on a bed, and suggested we do things I had never pictured two boys doing together before."
"You're really learning how to speak around that truth spell, aren't you?" Charles jokes, though he looks a bit unfocused.
"Not nearly as well as I would hope," Edwin admits. "He wanted me to have sex with him," he says despite the burning embarrassment deep within him. "And I did not want that. Not at all. But... I kept thinking about it, and I couldn't stop. Someone, like him, so brazen and bold with their advances of another man." He shudders slightly. "I'd never seen it before. And then Niko suggested Monty liked me and from there my feelings became confusing. Until... they weren't." He pauses and looks at Charles. "Nothing made sense, at least not right away. But... of course, you were there. And then everything did."
Charles' eyes widen slightly. "Yes," he says, with a nod. "Yeah, that's it- exactly! It- I don't understand, but you make sense to me. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, and I don't think whether you make me hot or not effects it."
"Do I?" Edwin finds himself asking. "I wish I did."
"Edwin, mate," Charles says, like he's explaining something very simple. "You make me feel everything."
Edwin nods. "Do I-?"
"Everything, mate," Charles says.
"Charles, this is a very hard conversation to have when only one of us has to tell the truth. So, tell me. Are you in love with me? The same way I'm in love with you?"
Charles seems a bit out of breath. "I don't know," he starts, "if that's something I'll ever know. But, I do know, I would like to kiss you. And, like, maybe along the way I'll figure something out and I'll know what it all means. But, right now, I don't."
"You would like to kiss me?" Edwin asks. "I'm surprised," he admits. "I hadn't thought you would want that."
Charles smiles at him. "You're the most important person to me, Edwin. If you want something bad enough, I want it too."
Edwin smiles, and he knows the spell isn't on his body as well as his mouth, but he thinks for a moment it might be when he leans forward and grabs Charles by his collar to pull him into a rough kiss. Charles makes a small noise of surprise, but kisses Edwin back, his hands cupping around the back of his head to hold him in the kiss.
He hadn't known he'd been holding his breath but the kiss feels like the single most exemplary exhale he'd ever let out. Edwin kisses Charles deeper than he'd ever kissed anyone. Charles kisses Edwin like his life depends on it, and slowly the two of them start to sink down against the couch.
Charles pushes against Edwin, and he lets him until he's laid out against the couch with Charles above him. Their kiss keeps going, deeper and deeper as heat swells within Edwin, his crotch tingling with heat and want unlike anything he'd ever known he could feel.
He whines into Charles' mouth, his hands moving down Charles' back to grab his hand, moving it towards his crotch. "I- I hope this is okay," he says, barely able to break the kiss. "I want you so badly, Charles."
"I need you," Charles says, panting heavily a mere few inches from Edwin's mouth. "I'll touch you, and it's more than just okay." He swallows hard, as if he were embarrassed.
"If anything," Edwin says, "I'm the one who should be embarrassed. I want you so desperately I can hardly think. I wish for you to make love to me, and as petrified as I am to admit that, it's the truth and I cannot keep it inside any longer." He feels his eyes well up, though he doesn't cry. Just a small gasp when he leads Charles' hand to cup his growing erection.
"Oh," Charles says softly, feeling how hard Edwin already was. He presses a few quick kisses to his lips. "That's right doable," he says, and kisses the corner of Edwin's mouth, slowly peppering kisses down his face until he meets the collar of Edwin's cotton shirt. "Would you want me to do you like this without the truth spell?"
"Yes," Edwin says with a gasp and small arch of his back, pushing his chest up against Charles. "Though, I would have never said it."
"Mm," Charles hums against Edwin's throat, kissing the skin as he pulls the buttons with one hand.
"Let me help," Edwin says, somewhat impatiently as he pulls the buttons from the bottom. "You're taking far too long, I simply cannot wait." He moans against his will when Charles kisses his bare collarbones. He could feel the smile on Charles' lips.
"Don't worry, mate, I can tell," he laughs as he rubs his hand against Edwin's bulge, and the feeling is so otherworldly he swears he sees stars.
Edwin shrugs his shirt off, shimmying the undershirt off as well. "I need you to keep kissing me," he demands, reaching to undo Charles' suspenders.
"I need it just as bad," Charles mumbles against Edwin's bare chest, grinding his own hard cock against Edwin's thigh. His breath is fluttery, as he shudders beneath Charles.
"I'm nervous," he admits, barely able to catch his breath. "I know I'm dead, but I'm still nervous. What if it hurts?"
"I'll be gentle," Charles promises, and he stops kissing Edwin's chest to look into his eyes when he promises. His gold chain hangs from his neck like a creeping vine. Edwin's mouth stays open, his lips parted. "But, yeah, you're a ghost. It shouldn't hurt."
"I know that," Edwin speaks softly, completely lost in the way Charles looks so utterly beautiful above him. "You're the prettiest thing I have ever seen, but please do get on with it."
Charles snickers at that and undoes the button on Edwin's trousers, pulling them down along with his socks. He kisses Edwin's lips again, and Edwin's fingers flutter against Charles' back. His hands spasm like his heart would.
Edwin, in only his drawers, sinks his fingers under Charles' undershirt. "You are woefully clothed," he notes. "I want to feel your skin against mine."
"That's doable," Charles laughs, pressing a kiss to Edwin's forehead. He pulls back to undo his own trousers, kicking them off as Edwin tugs the undershirt over Charles' head. "See? We're both equally clothed now." He grins cheekily and kisses Edwin's face before sinking back down to kiss his neck, his chest, his ribs. Charles' teeth press against Edwin's skin and he-
"Please fuck me already, Charles." He groans at his words more than the fact that he'd said it aloud.
"I'm gettin' to it, you'll be fine." Charles looks up from where his face was inching slowly towards the tent in Edwin's drawers with each kiss. He was certain he would explode if Charles didn't do something soon. Though, when Charles' mouth reaches Edwin's bulge and he rubs his nose against the fabric, Edwin moans louder than he'd ever before. Then Charles opens his mouth over the fabric, kissing it deeply like he had Edwin's throat and mouth. It feels otherworldly as each step of this whole ordeal had.
Edwin's hips buck up and he feels himself let out a noise that sounded like a scream. "CHARLES!"
"Alright, alright," Charles laughs and moves back up to tug at Edwin's drawers with his teeth. They don't move much until he tugs them down with his thumbs and kisses Edwin's hip, then groin, then thigh. He licks back up towards Edwin's cock and the feeling makes him shiver. "I think you're pretty, too," Charles says, though his eyes are fixed on Edwin's dick. He presses a kiss to it, and Edwin gasps again.
"Charles," he felt like he was begging now. "I cannot tell you just how badly I wish for you to fuck me. Please, Charles. I don't know how much longer I can take this."
"Do you think ghosts need lube?" Charles asks, and when Edwin opens his mouth to answer, Charles licks the head of his cock and elicits a scream from him instead. "Interesting thought," Charles teases before rubbing his tongue against Edwin's dick again. His body shudders again, and he grips Charles' hair, knuckles white as he tugs.
Charles lets out a soft moan as he lets Edwin pull him. "Fuck," he whispers, moving with Edwin's hands until his face is nearer to his neck, speaking in his ear. "That felt so good," he says and kisses Edwin's neck. "Should I finger you, or-"
"I want you inside me, in any way you see fit," Edwin speaks and they both know it's the truth because he can't make it be anything but. He twists his fingers in Charles' hair, pushing at his boxers before Charles decides to help and push them all the way off. "I can feel your cock," Edwin says, breathlessly. The feeling of it against his thigh was slowly taking over every single thought inside his head. His hand moves and Charles shifts so Edwin can grip it. His hand moves slowly, shaking slightly. "I'm still scared. Can I see it? Ignore the first part of that, please. I don't want you to know how nervous I am."
"Mate, I love you so much. I can't ignore that." Charles shifts up, moving to part Edwin's knees and sit between them. "I promise I'll be gentle with you."
"Do you want me to be with you, as well?" Edwin asks. His eyes dart to Charles' lap and he gasps softly. He should have known he would find every bit of Charles' so beautiful. "I didn't know it was possible to be this in love with someone."
"Me neither... and..." Charles' eyes dart from Edwin to the window behind the desk before moving back to Edwin. "I... I'm not sure. How about you get on top? Take it at your own pace?"
"You're so unbelievably attractive," Edwin says. "I don't care how or what we do, so long as I do it with you."
"Says the one who was just screaming at me to get on with it," Charles teases.
"Please do," Edwin says, and parts his legs around Charles completely.
Charles pauses completely for a moment, his own chest shuddering with a breath as he looks down upon Edwin. "I-I will," he says. "I'll make love to you, Edwin." And he leaves the part about how easy it is to love Edwin out. Because he was able to keep his thoughts unsaid. He leans down and presses a soft kiss to Edwin's lips as he rubs one hand against Edwin's erection. He slowly lifts Edwin's leg with the other. He moves forward, stopping just as the very tip of his dick touches Edwin. "How do you feel?"
"Still nervous," Edwin says, "but it's not nearly as bad as I want you to fuck me." He squeezes his eyes shut. "Please," he whispers, and opens those green eyes up to look into the most beautiful dark brown he'd ever seen. "I love you," he says and grips the back of Charles' head to pull him back into a kiss. The chain necklace pools against Edwin's collarbones and he feels the moan Charles lets out.
It's as if everything in the world stops existing outside of them when Charles shifts his hips forward. The moment Edwin feels Charles inside him, slowly and carefully, his eyes widen and he gasps into Charles' mouth. His eyes open wider with each small movement, and he throws his head back, gripping Charles' hair in his fist.
"Oh, FUCK!" he moans, louder than he had yet. Charles breaths against Edwin's cheek, placing a wet kiss to his skin before kissing at his throat, sucking the skin and shifting his hips back before thrusting in, slowly. He moves against Edwin like a blanket being thrown over him. The warmth from his body something he could drown in despite the fact that he shouldn't be feeling it at all. "Fuck, Charles!" Edwin moans again, shifting his hips with the movement, as if to encourage him to move faster.
"It feels good," Charles says, though his voice sounds strained. "I've never-"
"Fucked a guy? No, you haven't. Now if you would please move faster and fuck me, that would be goddamn brills!" Edwin shouts and pulls at Charles' hair as he arches his back.
"Sure thing," Charles mumbles against Edwin's throat, kissing the skin and thrusting faster, deeper. His cock hits something inside Edwin that feels as if his body is lit aflame. Pleasure taking over every bit of his being. One hand grips at Charles' back, fingers biting the skin as he lets out a scream.
"FUCK!" He wishes he could bite his tongue, but his cock throbs and he feels his insides turn into that welling heat. The room they're in stops existing. The universe coming and going with each thrust Charles gives him. His breath all but naught as he hits his fist against Charles' back. Over and over again, punching him as he feels the most he'd ever felt. "FUCK! FUCK! CHARLES, FUCK!" Even with the truth spell, he couldn't get a damn word out.
He'd, truthfully, forgotten any others existed.
"I love you," Charles says against Edwin's throat, barely able to catch his breath. "You're the prettiest thing I've ever met. God, I've wanted to fuck you for so long." And he doesn't even realize what he's just said as he loses himself inside Edwin.
Edwin can't summon the breath to ask, he's lost with Charles.
Each moment, each movement, builds inside him and he screams. Pulling Charles' hair, banging his fist against his back. His body shakes and his breath catches as his hand spasms against his back, clutching his skin and grinding down against his cock with the thrusts. He cums over their stomachs, fully understanding he would never love anyone like he loved Charles.
"Oh," Charles groans softly, his thrusts slowing down, "fuck..." He presses a chaste kiss to Edwin's lips, before pulling away. "I-I'm so sorry, Edwin, I meant to pull out-"
"What?" Edwin gasps, the room coming back to him in stark color before Charles' words make sense in his head. "You... Oh, that's quite alright, I wanted you inside me, after all. It makes me warm to know I felt that," he swallows hard, hoping his words would stop. "It feels like I'm closer to you, in a way. Completely yours in a way I've never been anyone's." He looks away, biting his lips. "Oh, good, I'm done talking."
Charles laughs at that and falls next to Edwin on the couch. "I'll clean you up," he says, though he wraps his limbs around Edwin instead.
"No, you won't." Edwin laughs as well. "You'll forget and we'll rest here until I get up. Only... I don't want to get up, I want to stay here, with you." Charles rests his head on Edwin's chest, and he feels more at home than he'd ever before. "You've... done that before?" he asks.
"Not... exactly," Charles says.
"No?" Edwin sighs. "I never ask, it's improper to do so. But, you seem to know a fair deal more than I do."
"That's not too difficult. I actually had a few porno mags when I-" he coughs slightly and then clears his throat. "I fooled around a bit before I died, but I never slept with with anyone. Not like that, at least."
"It feels unfair to me still," Edwin says, "that you get to choose when you tell the truth." He pushes Charles away, just slightly to look at him. "You must tell the truth, like I am. Otherwise it's unfair."
Charles wants to say no, but he can't. "Alright, sure."
"Tell me," Edwin says. "Are you still uncertain how you feel for me?"
Charles looks away again, and Edwin fears the worst. Of course this had cleared nothing up, and he's about to say as much when Charles speaks. "No," he says. "I love you, I'm... yeah, I'm in love with you. Have been, I think for a while. Didn't know it, 'cause I've never... thought about it like that."
"You haven't? Why not?"
"Hey, my time wasn't much better than yours," he says, somewhat defensively. "And... my dad, he didn't like that... stuff. He tore down my posters if he thought they weren't manly enough. Or if he just didn't like them."
Edwin's quiet for a moment before he wraps his arms around Charles again. "When I said you could talk to me, about your dad, or anything you wish. I meant it. I know I'm not the best with feelings, or anything of the like. But... I care, Charles. And I want to know more. You've been holding on for thirty years- longer, in fact. But, you must know, it's okay to let go. It's okay to let me help you shoulder the burden. I want to help." He's quiet, but so is Charles so he asks, "Do you wish to talk about it?"
"No," Charles says quickly, too quickly. "Well... I don't know. I mean, it means a lot to me that you wanna hear, I guess. But it's... This is my thing to never speak of," Charles says quietly. "I couldn't say anything to the guys at school, they'd just laugh at me. And I told Crystal, but she understood it. She hadn't been with me like you had and it felt lower stakes to tell her. Like you and Niko."
"Yes," Edwin says. "I'd never imagined meeting someone like her." He squeezes his arm around Charles. "Your dad, he hurt you, didn't he?"
"Me and my mum," he says. "It- I don't like thinking about it. It hurts still, and I'm still angry. But... now I can say it feels like it happened to someone else, so it feels less important to talk about. Like it doesn't even matter because none of that is who I am now."
"I can say, without a doubt, that those years, those memories do effect you. They shaped who you are, and there's no denying that." He sighs, and places a kiss to the top of Charles' head. They lay together for a while. So long the sun seems to be setting again. "Let's get cleaned up, though I wish I could talk to you forever."
Charles moves to sit up, and before Edwin can stand, he moves to get a wet washcloth. He cleans Edwin's skin, slowly, delicately, deliberately. "I'd wanna do this again," he says.
"The sex or the talk?" Edwin asks.
Charles snickers, and he seems to be somewhat broken out of his melancholy. "Mostly meant the talk, though I really loved the other part, too." He gives Edwin a wink that makes him groan.
They dress, helping each other and pausing to smile.
"I love you," Edwin says. "Though I'll keep looking for a cure to this," he says, pointing at his mouth, "I'm glad it brought us together."
"Me, too," Charles says. "Hey, maybe Crystal found something in town?"
"I doubt it," Edwin says. "She's hardly the detective we are. Perhaps we should join her."
Charles rolls his eyes, though they both jump when Charlie, the Night Nurse, bursts through the office door, black cat in arm.
"I've found something that can help!" she declares.
"I can't say I'm entirely happy about it," Edwin says. "I did not miss you," he says to the cat.