Chapter Text
One small whimper was the only warning they got before Charles started screaming. Edwin nearly jumped out of his seat in shock, the book he’d been reading clattered to the floor. He recovered quickly and made his way over to the couch where Crystal was calling Charles’ name and gently shaking him to try and wake him up.
“No! No! Edwin!” Charles yelled and Edwin jumped again at the sound of his own name. Crystal moved to the side so Edwin could lean close to Charles.
“Charles, it’s okay, I’m here,” Edwin said loudly, trying to break through whatever nightmare Charles was having.
“No!” Charles yelled again, his voice hoarse and heartbroken. Edwin put one hand on his shoulder and the other he cupped the uninjured side of Charles’ face.
“Charles, it’s just a dream, wake up now, I’m here, it’s Edwin, you are okay,” Edwin babbled, trying to break through. Charles let out one last horrible scream and then his eyes flew open. He bolted into a sitting position, nearly knocking Edwin over. Edwin sat on the side of the couch and immediately gathered his friend into his arms. “Shh, it was a dream, you are okay, I’m here.”
“Edwin?” Charles asked and then he started sobbing and his arms grabbed onto Edwin like he was afraid he’d disappear.
“Yes, I’m here,” Edwin tangled one hand in Charles’ hair and rubbed his back with his other. He could feel the heat radiating from Charles at each point of contact. “It was a dream, you are safe.”
“Edwin…what happened? I don’t…” Charles trailed off, still crying.
“You are injured and sick and just suffered a terrible nightmare,” Edwin said, realizing that Charles was probably extremely confused. It was bad enough to wake up when you haven’t slept for 30 years, it was worse to wake up from a fever-induced nightmare. “You are in the office with me, Crystal, and Niko. You are perfectly safe, I assure you. Whatever you dreamed of is not real. I am okay and safe as well,” Edwin added as an afterthought, remembering how Charles had screamed his name.
It took a while, but eventually, Charles relaxed slightly and his crying quieted. “I…feel weird.”
“Yes, we’re trying to figure that out,” Edwin murmured. Charles lifted up his head from Edwin’s shoulder and looked around, his gaze falling on Crystal and then Niko.
“Hey,” he said quietly. Crystal let out a soft sob and sat on the couch behind him, hugging him gently. Edwin was pretty sure Niko joined the group hug as well, but he couldn’t see her from his position. They stayed like that until Charles was heavy and lax in his arms. Edwin looked up and met Crystal’s eyes. She helped ease Charles back until he was laying with his top half cradled in her arms. Charles’ closed eyes drifted open for a second when they moved him, but once he was settled they closed again.
For a few long moments, none of them spoke. Niko was kneeling on the ground with her hand resting on Edwin’s knee. Crystal had her head bent over Charles and was running her fingers through his hair. Edwin took his friend’s limp hand and attempted to recover from what had just transpired.
“That was…terrifying,” Crystal said after a few long moments of silence.
“Yes,” Edwin agreed, not quite able to add anything more eloquent to that.
“What exactly just happened?” Niko asked.
“Nightmare,” Edwin provided. “Possibly caused by the fever, or just perhaps the fact that he does not normally sleep.”
“He was screaming for you,” Crystal said softly. “What do you think it was about?”
“I don’t know,” Edwin said honestly. “It could’ve been about a number of things, we have been through a lot in the past 30 years and Charles tends to take it personally when my safety is in danger.”
“Like when he couldn’t keep you from getting taken back to hell?” Niko asked in her innocently blunt way. Coming from anyone else, Edwin might’ve taken that comment badly, but he knew Niko meant no harm by it.
“Yes, given how recently that was, I’d say that is the most likely culprit,” Edwin said, looking at his friend with a frown.
“Edwin, what do we do? We haven’t been able to find anything in your books and he’s not getting any better,” Crystal said.
“I don’t know,” Edwin hated to admit it. “The only causes of ghostly fever I could find were curses and cursed objects. And everything says that iron wounds should heal quickly as soon as the iron is out.”
“What if it’s not a ghostly fever,” Niko said slowly.
“What?” Crystal questioned. Edwin knew his expression probably matched the curious one on her face.
“You said iron makes you solid right? Well, what would we think was wrong if Charles was a living person who developed a fever after being stabbed with an iron blade?”
“You’re saying that you think it’s some sort of infection?” Edwin asked, following Niko’s line of thinking.
“He was bleeding, right? What if the iron somehow got into his system that way.”
“Like into his blood?” Crystal asked in alarm.
“Iron poisoning would explain the symptoms,” Edwin said. He released Charles’ hand and got up and went over to his desk, searching for a book that he knew had information about the effects of too much iron in the system of a living person. “There are a few remedies,” Edwin said after he’d found the page. “But I’m not sure how they will work on Charles. He was bleeding but I have no idea how much his blood is really circulating.” It was a weird gray area and Edwin didn’t know everything about ghost rules and there were certainly no records of a ghost getting iron poisoning.
“Is there a way you could combine that with a supernatural remedy? Like a spell or potion or something?” Crystal prodded.
“I’m not a witch,” Edwin said automatically.
“But you do know magic,” Niko said and Edwin didn’t argue about the specifics of the arcane.
“There might be something,” Edwin said slowly, an idea starting to form. “I remember reading something once about a ritual to cleanse the blood. It was supposed to help with infection. Perhaps it’ll work to pull the iron from Charles’ system.”
“Sounds perfect,” Crystal said enthusiastically.
“Again, I’m not sure if it’ll work, it wasn’t designed for ghosts or this specific instance,” Edwin said, not wanting to get his hopes up.
“We have to try,” Crystal said desperately.
“I know,” Edwin agreed. He went over to his bookshelves trying to remember the book he’d seen the ritual in.
“How can I help?” Niko asked as she joined him at the shelves. Edwin pulled out two books that he thought were the most likely to have the ritual in them.
“I can’t remember which book, but I’m hoping it’s one of these,” Edwin held out one of the books to her. Edwin almost went back and sat at his desk, but at the last minute, he went to the couch. He sat at the opposite end from Crystal and gently lifted Charles’ legs into his lap. It was a position they’d found themselves in quite often over the years. Usually, Edwin would be sitting down first reading and Charles would throw himself down onto the couch and make himself comfortable. A few times Charles had been lounging and had moved his legs in invitation when he’d seen Edwin come over with a book.
Edwin rested one hand on Charles’ shin and hoped that the familiarity of the gesture would help to ground Charles. Crystal also kept up a stream of whispered words as they read. Edwin could only hear a few words here and there, but it sounded as if she were reassuring him over and over that he was safe.
What they were doing seemed to be partially effective, because the second time Charles woke up from a nightmare he wasn’t screaming. He still woke up suddenly and was clearly confused and agitated, but they were able to calm down faster than before.
“You okay?” Edwin asked after a few moments. Charles was leaning back against Crystal, breathing heavily. Crystal had both of her arms wrapped around him protectively as if she could physically keep the nightmares away.
“Brills,” Charles said, coughing through the word. “What’s…wrong…with me?”
“I believe the piece of iron was in your system for too long and you are now suffering from iron poisoning. We are looking for a way to cleanse your blood,” Edwin said. Charles' eyes were glazed over and he wasn’t sure how much of what he was saying Charles was actually following.
“Aces…I know you’ll…figure it out,” Charles said breathlessly. His eyes slipped closed as he said the words and his body went slack as he fell asleep again. Edwin stood up from the couch so he could feel Charles’ forehead.
“His fever’s worse,” Edwin said in alarm. They needed to find the ritual and fast.
“I think this might be it,” Niko exclaimed happily. Edwin went and looked over her shoulder.
“Yes, I believe that is it,” Edwin said. “Well done, Niko.”
Niko helped Edwin to gather the materials and prepare the ritual. Edwin thought that she would make a good apprentice and after this, he decided he would start including her in his studies of the arcane. The poultice was almost complete when a shout startled them all.
“No! Edwin!” Charles cried. Edwin immediately shoved the objects in his hands at Niko and ran over to Charles.
“Charles, it’s okay, you're dreaming,” Edwin said. Crystal was trying to calm him down, but this time it wasn’t working. Edwin sat on the side of the couch and grabbed Charles’ hand. “It’s okay, Charles, we are safe.” Charles opened his eyes. His panicked brown eyes moved around the room but he calmed down once his gaze had found Edwin’s.
“Edwin,” He said in relief.
“We’re safe,” Edwin said, giving him a small smile and trying to disguise the fact that his phantom heart was threatening to beat right out of his chest. The raw fear in Charles’ expression before he fully woke up had shaken Edwin.
“Don’t feel good,” Charles murmured.
“I know,” Edwin said, running his knuckles down Charles’ burning cheek. “But I think we figured out a way to help with that.” He looked over at Niko, who was diligently finishing the poultice.
“S’cold,” Charles said as he shivered in Crystal’s arms. Edwin readjusted the blanket that had been knocked off during his nightmare. Edwin leaned over to tuck Charles in and Charles grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. Edwin ended up half laying on top of Charles’ stomach. He looked at Charles curiously and found the boy had closed his eyes again, although his grip on Edwin’s arm remained firm. Edwin realized that although it would be a comfort for Charles to know he was being held by Crystal, he couldn’t feel it when his eyes were closed, not the way he could feel another ghost.
Charles was hurt and sick and confused and Edwin was the only one who could keep him grounded through touch.
“Niko, are you able to finish the preparations yourself?” Edwin whispered, looking over at her. “I think I’m needed here.”
“Yes, there’s just a couple of more steps, it’s very straightforward actually,” She said brightly.
“Here, switch positions with me,” Crystal said suddenly. Edwin looked up at her in confusion. “It’ll be better if he’s held by someone he can feel.” She explained, obviously figuring out what Edwin had just realized.
Charles was not fully asleep and he cracked an eye open and huffed in protest when Edwin started to move, but as soon as he figured out what they were doing, he released Edwin’s arm. Edwin moved so that he was sitting sideways on the couch behind Charles. He ended up with Charles lying in between his legs with his back against Edwin’s chest. It was an extremely intimate position and Edwin was worried that Charles would feel awkward, especially since he now knew Edwin’s feelings for him.
He needn’t have worried, however, as Charles settled against him with a sigh and took Edwin’s hands in his own and wrapped them around his stomach. Charles relaxed his head into the crook of Edwin’s neck and he could feel those soft curls tickling his skin. Edwin felt like he was burning himself, both from the heat coming from Charles and from the position they were in.
Edwin pulled himself away from those thoughts, choosing to instead focus on the fact that his friend was sick and needed his help.
“Finished,” Niko announced a few minutes later. She came over, bringing the poultice and the book. She handed the book to Edwin who untangled one of his hands from Charles’ and took it.
“Okay, we will need to put the poultice on his wound, then I will recite the spell, and after an hour all of the infection should be pulled out,” Edwin said.
“An hour?” Charles groaned softly.
“Yes, but hopefully you will start feeling better before that,” Edwin said, not mentioning the fact that there was a possibility this wouldn’t work at all. That was something they’d deal with when they needed to.
“What do we need to do?” Crystal asked. She’d sat on the edge of the couch next to Charles’ legs when they’d switched positions.
“The poultice needs to be applied directly,” Edwin said, nodding to the bowl in Niko’s hands. “We’ll need to remove his bandage and then cover it with a cloth after. I apologize Charles but with your permission, we will need to remove your undershirt, we can’t risk the fabric getting in the way of the poultice.” The neckline of his undershirt was just a bit higher than the wound. They’d been able to pull it down to apply the bandage, but it was currently covering where the poultice needed to go.
“Aces,” Charles said, attempting to sit up with a wince.
“Let us help,” Crystal urged. Charles nodded reluctantly and Edwin helped prop him up while Crystal gently pulled the shirt over his head. Even the simple action took a lot out of Charles and he collapsed back against Edwin in relief when it was done. Edwin pulled the blanket up Charles’ torso as far as he could. He told himself it was to keep Charles warm, but really he wasn’t sure if he could handle so much tan skin on display.
Niko gently applied the poultice and covered it with a cloth. Edwin put his left hand gently over the cloth to keep it in place. He read the spell in Latin out of the book he held in his right hand. As he read, he could feel the poultice heating up beneath his hand. Once Edwin had finished, Charles hissed slightly, closing his eyes as he winced.
“Charles?” Edwin asked in alarm.
“S’okay…just stings a bit,” Charles grit out.
“Should that be happening?” Crystal said in alarm.
“The book was not very specific,” Edwin responded, trying to remain calm.
“Should we take it off?” Niko asked, one hand gripping Charles’ arm, and the other hovered over where Edwin’s hand held the poultice,
“No,” Charles said immediately. “Just give it a chance. This is probably just it working, innit? We need to see if it helps.”
“You are right,” Edwin reluctantly agreed. “Just tell us if the pain becomes unmanageable.”
“I will,” Charles agreed. Edwin was not really sure if Charles was telling the truth, but he also knew that his partner was not in a position to be able to hide his pain well. Edwin was positive his winces would give him away.
*****
Charles had been freezing, the results of the fever caused by the infection, but now he felt like he was burning. They were half an hour into the treatment and he genuinely wasn’t sure if he could handle another 30 minutes.
Charles closed his eyes and tried to focus on the hand that was gently carding through his hair, the firm chest against his back, and the comforting legs that bracketed his own. Charles had a lot of complex feelings towards Edwin that he was trying to sort through and if he was in his right mind, he’d probably think a bit more about how good it felt to be held by him. At the moment, however, Charles just knew that Edwin felt safe. He knew that as long as Edwin was there he’d be looked after and protected.
“Charles?” Edwin said softly, the hand that was in his hair stilled.
“Mm?” Charles said, not opening his eyes.
“How are you feeling? You’re shivering seems to have stopped, but you are still sweating.”
“Yeah, feels like I’m burning up, doesn’t it?” Charles groaned. He heard Crystal make a strangled noise and forced his eyes open so he could look at her. He was surprised to see that she was leaning over him, dabbing a cloth on his forehead.
“Is that bad? That sounds bad,” Niko said. She was perched on the opposite arm of the couch with one hand on Charles’ ankle.
“It could just be the effects of the poultice pulling the iron out of his blood,” Edwin said, but he didn’t sound confident. Charles wanted to turn and look at him, but he also didn’t want to move out of the position they were in.
“It’s not that bad,” Charles said, but another wave of hot pain radiated from his wound and he flinched, taking away the effect of his words. Crystal grabbed his hand and he squeezed hers until the pain faded enough for him to continue talking. “Okay, it’s not great. But we have to see this through, yeah?”
“What if it’s doing something bad?” Crystal asked, looking up at Edwin. Edwin didn’t respond for a few moments and Charles could imagine the concentrated look he had on his face.
“I am just making a conjecture,” Edwin prefaced. “But If it is drawing the iron out, I imagine the pain will stay fairly constant, maybe a few spikes here and there like the one Charles just had. But if the pain increases drastically we shall remove the poultice.”
“Aces sounds like a plan,” Charles murmured. He might not have the incredibly high pain tolerance that Edwin had after 70 years in hell, but Charles did know how to handle pain. He had plenty of experience smiling through aches, bruises, and even broken bones. Charles was determined to make it through the last half of the ritual.
The pain washed over him in waves. It didn’t get worse, but it still wasn’t pleasant. Every time a wave came, Charles would press his lips together to avoid whimpering. He’d grip Crystal’s hand and feel Edwin’s arms tighten around him. His friends kept up a constant stream of chatter and reassurances, but Charles got to the point where he couldn’t follow any of it.
He’d forgotten how much he hated sweating. He felt sticky and gross and hot. Normally, Charles was very tactile and would be soaking up the physical affection from his friends, but at the moment it felt like he was being smothered. Charles could only think that he needed to get up, needed to find some kind of relief from the oppressing heat. He tried to move, but a pressure on his chest held him in place. Charles was pretty sure his eyes were open, but he couldn’t seem to focus on anything, he tried to free himself again but was held firm.
Then, suddenly, Charles’ world tilted and he felt himself falling.
When awareness drifted back to Charles, he realized the horrible burning feeling was gone. He felt a hand gently stroking his cheek and opened up his eyes to find Edwin looking back at him with undisguised worry in his green eyes.
“What happened?” Charles asked hoarsely. He was lying flat on the couch and wasn’t entirely sure when Edwin had moved out from behind him.
“The last five minutes of the remedy were a little difficult,” Edwin said with a small smile and Charles knew he was trying to play it down. Charles looked over at Crystal and Niko, who were sitting on the floor next to Edwin. They smiled at him as well, but both had tears on their faces.
“What happened?” Charles said again, more insistently. Edwin was still running his fingers along Charles’ face. He brushed back some of the hair off of his forehead and then cupped his cheek again.
“You got overheated and overwhelmed. You tried to get up although I’m not entirely sure where you thought you were going. We gave you a bit of space because it seemed like you needed it…but I…I had to keep the poultice in place. I am afraid you probably felt like I was holding you down,” Edwin said, biting his lip nervously. Charles reached up and covered the hand Edwin had on his face with his own.
“I know you’d never do anything to harm me,” Charles said. He took a moment to take stock of his body. There still was a slight lingering pain in his chest as well as his cheek and forearm, but it was nothing compared to what it had been. “Did it work?”
“Your wounds do appear to be healing, although still slower than normal, but it looks as if it were successful,” Edwin said.
“That means yes,” Crystal added with a wink.
“I knew you lot could figure it out,” Charles said, smiling at his three friends. Niko jumped up and came over and kissed Charles on the forehead. It was a gesture so sweet it nearly made his eyes well up.
“You had us worried, I’m glad you’re okay,” Niko said.
“Niko prepared the poultice,” Edwin said. “She has shown a gift for the arcane.”
“Edwin said he’d teach me about it,” Niko added.
“That’s brills,” Charles said enthusiastically. “Now Edwin can stop bugging me to help him.” Edwin rolled his eyes good-naturedly and the girls let out soft chuckles. Some of the tension that had been in the air faded away. Charles turned to look at Crystal who was watching him with a serious expression. “I hope I didn’t squeeze your hand too hard,” He said to her. In response, Crystal leaned forward and grabbed one of his hands in both of hers. She brought it up and kissed his knuckles.
“Never,” She said.
“Thank you,” Charles choked out, not really being able to vocalize how much her steady support meant to him.
Since he felt better, Charles tried to sit up from his reclined position on the couch, but three sets of hands gently but firmly pushed him back down.
“You are still healing, just…rest,” Edwin said in explanation. Charles nodded in agreement, mostly to wipe the worried look off of his friends’ faces.
“Speaking of rest…Niko and I really need some,” Crystal said and Charles noted she did look exhausted. Crystal squeezed his hand one last time before letting go. “You better be in this exact position when we return,” She directed at Charles. “Text me if anything changes or he tries to get up,” She said to Edwin.
“Text?” Charles said incredulously.
“Yes, I text now,” Edwin said proudly. Charles was still absorbing that fact as Niko and Crystal said their goodbyes and left. Edwin hadn’t moved his hand from Charles’ cheek and Charles found he didn’t want him to. “May I?” Edwin asked. Charles wasn’t sure what he was asking for a second until Edwin’s other hand lightly rested on the edge of the bandage on his other cheek.
“Yeah,” Charles said, a curious fluttering feeling in his stomach when Edwin bent over him. Edwin gently peeled the bandage off and then leaned back with a bright smile, both his hands falling away from Charles’ face.
“It’s healing, looks more like old scars now. Should be gone soon.”
“Good, would hate to ruin my face, it’s one of my best features,” Charles said, reverting back to his comfortable teasing state to disguise how off-kilter he felt.
“Shan’t argue with you there,” Edwin agreed, shocking Charles. Because his brain was still a bit fuzzy and because he was trying to figure out his feelings for Edwin, Charles couldn’t help but push it a bit.
“Y’know, the girls both gave me kisses. They say a kiss helps to make things better,” Charles said, tapping his cheek and wagging his eyebrows. He expected Edwin to get flustered or politely decline. He did not expect Edwin to give him a mischievous look and then lean back down and kiss him softly on the cheek. Charles found himself quite speechless when Edwin pulled away. The feel of his lips had felt different than the girls and Charles suspected it wasn’t just because Edwin was also a ghost.
“Feel better?” Edwin said, looking like he was trying not to laugh.
“Cheeky,” Charles managed to get out after a few moments. Now Edwin did laugh as he moved away from Charles and stood up.
“I was going to say the same about you,” Edwin noted. Charles moved his feet in an almost automatic motion to create room for Edwin to sit down. Edwin obliged him and Charles settled his feet on Edwin’s lap with a sigh. This was something they’d been doing for years, this was familiar and comfortable.
Charles looked down at his chest and poked lightly at the bandage on his chest. “Should we take this one off, then?”
“Not quite yet,” Edwin quickly. “It was still quite…gaping.” Charles winced and dropped his hands. He’d been speared straight through with a metal blade, he could only imagine how gnarly the wound looked. Charles looked down and realized that he was completely shirtless. He’d wandered around in his undershirt on occasion, but had never gone fully shirtless in front of Edwin. Charles wondered how Edwin’s old-fashioned sensibilities had dealt with so much skin being on display for so long.
“When’d I lose my shirt?” Charles asked.
“We took it off before we applied the poultice, we did ask permission,” Edwin said, studying him with a furrowed brow.
“Oh, sorry, things are a bit fuzzy,” Charles admitted.
“That would be the fever I imagine,” Edwin said, some of the worry clearing. He looked like he was working his way up to asking a question so Charles relaxed back into the pillow and gave him some time. “Charles…”
“Yeah, mate?” He responded immediately.
“Do you remember sleeping?”
“Um,” Charles thought about it, trying to make the blurry memories of the past day a bit clearer. “Yeah, or I remember how odd it was to wake up. Weird feeling, that.”
“Do you remember dreaming?” Edwin asked and his words brought forth a memory. One of a long corridor and his best friend getting torn apart. Charles shivered, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. Edwin reached back, grabbed a blanket, and laid it gently over Charles. Charles was grateful for his friend, it may not provide him warmth, but it gave him a layer of perceived protection. “You do not have to tell me if it is private or too painful,” Edwin added into the silence.
“No, it’s…” Charles trailed off. He didn’t want Edwin to know he’d been dreaming about hell because he feared Edwin would feel guilty.
“It is alright,” Edwin said, squeezing his ankle and giving him a small smile. Charles knew he wasn’t going to pressure him, but Edwin couldn’t quite hide the flash of disappointment in his eyes. Edwin had been understanding when he’d found out how much of Charles past he hadn’t known, but Charles knew his friend thought that it was because Charles didn’t trust him and he was hurt by that. Just as Charles had been hurt when he’d known Edwin was keeping secrets about the Cat King. They’d promised to try to be more open and honest with each other. Charles figured it’d probably hurt Edwin worse to think Charles was keeping something else from him.
“It was about hell,” Charles said after a few moments. Edwin’s gaze snapped to his but he didn’t interrupt. “It started out the same way it happened in real life…but when you…” Charles paused for a moment, trying to gauge if Edwin was okay talking about this topic.
When he paused, Edwin moved slightly down the couch so Charles' calves were now on his lap instead of his feet. Now that Edwin was closer, he reached out and took Charles’ hand. “I am okay, you can talk about hell with me,” Edwin said simply.
“When the demon first dragged you away, I ran after you just like I did for reals, but this time there was a gate that closed…I couldn’t…I couldn’t get into the room. I couldn’t do anything to stop that creature from tearing you apart again and again. I couldn't get past the gate to save you. I could only watch over and over,” Charles was crying as the memory of the dreams crashed back down on him in full force. Edwin made a strangled sound and pulled on their joined hands until Charles sat up. Edwin pulled him into his arms and held him close. For the first time in a long time, Charles allowed himself to cry and be held.
“I’m sorry you had that horrible dream,” Edwin said after Charles had calmed down a bit. “But remember, you did get into that room. You saved me. You reassured me, threw a bomb at the demon, and then dragged me out of that place. Never forget in real life, Charles Rowland, you are my hero.”
Charles found himself crying again, although they weren’t quite so heartbroken this time. He held onto Edwin tightly, grateful when Edwin returned his pressure. Charles felt a heat blooming in his chest that had nothing to do with injuries or iron.