Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
"Smell this, go on." He shoves it in Edwin's face so abruptly that the latter jolts back in surprise. "Tell me I'm not crazy. Tell me it smells like--"
"Roses," Edwin murmurs. He takes the card almost reverently, runs a finger along the edge, and looks up in dawning wonder. "Charles…"
Charles' heart, dormant for almost forty years, thunders wildly in his chest.
"Holy FUCK."
-OR-
Charles and Edwin temporarily get their bodies back. They make the most of it.
Series
- Part 1 of Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
"No, mate, that's not what I--"
Edwin rises and plants his palms decisively on the desk. "I've never truly committed to your many past attempts to whip me into shape, Charles, but I think I'm finally willing to try it. Genuinely."
Charles blinks, and struggles not to look too disbelieving. "Oh, really? … Brilliant."
-OR-
Ghosts, by nature, are as strong as they want to be. Charles helps Edwin find his motivation, which turns out to be something neither of them expects...
Series
- Part 2 of Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
"I don't like this," Charles declares as soon as Edwin pulls on the closet light. "That greasy tosser's up to something. Getting you alone so he can--"
"Do what, Charles?" Charles clearly means well, yet a note of exasperation creeps into Edwin's tone anyway. "Look, I know last time I… slipped up, but that's all the more reason you can trust my vigilance this time around. Besides, he won't try anything."
"How could you possibly know that, mate?"
"I… I just do."
"I'm flattered that you trust me, Edwin," the Cat King's muffled voice calls from outside the closet. "You probably shouldn't, though."
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The Cat King helps Edwin on a case. Leather jackets, eyeliner, and certain pent-up feelings are involved.
Series
- Part 3 of Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
Edwin's smile, when it's a proper one rather than a reserved, temporary upturn of the lips, is the most miraculous thing in the world--as splendid and pearly as a moonrise, but a thousand times rarer.
He wears one of these proper smiles after his sentence to Hell is officially overturned, after he and Charles have embraced in the joyous realization that they're finally, finally free. And as they break apart and something seizes in Charles' chest--surely not his heart--he realizes that, until right this moment, he's never known an Edwin Payne who wasn't on the run. And an Edwin without something twisted and sinister perpetually snapping at his heels is an Edwin who, among other things, smiles freely and openly.
Charles finds himself longing to see it again.
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Edwin fell first. Charles falls (much) harder.
Series
- Part 4 of Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
"You let him get away?" Crystal says. "I thought you said this'd be a cakewalk!"
"Thank you for your contribution, Crystal," Edwin says testily. "Clearly we were wrong, and now another innocent may die because of it. Happy?"
"All right, settle down, you lot…" Charles says in the placating tone he's been using a lot more since Crystal's integration into the agency. "Yeah, we underestimated the pervy git and he's now running around wearing Edwin's face. So what are we going to do about it?"
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A shapeshifting incubus takes on Edwin's likeness. Charles gets very confused.
Series
- Part 5 of Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
"Hold on, you think I'd turn?" Charles demands.
"Every ghost has a unique trigger, and I can't say I wasn't a little concerned on a few occasions in Port Townsend. Then, with that same look in your eyes just now…"
Edwin isn't wrong; it's not like Charles hadn't been thinking the same thing. But he shakes his head and attempts a comforting grin--Edwin's got too much on his plate to waste time worrying about the one person who's supposed to look out for him. "Don't worry, mate, I'm aces. So how do we find this demonic arsehole?"
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All ghosts are capable of turning vengeful. When their quarry is revealed to be a demon from Edwin's past, Charles and Edwin learn something important about their own personal triggers.
Series
- Part 6 of Dead Boy Detectives
- Part 1 of Demonic Reckonings
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Summary
"So let me get this straight…" Crystal says. "You guys can instantly conjure up whatever outfits you want, yet you've both stuck with the exact same looks for thirty-plus years? What are you, cartoon characters?"
"Oi, ease up," Charles protests with a slight pout. He's back in his red polo again. "We're blokes, and it's just simpler to keep things the same rather than worry about all that. Besides, our fits are part of our whole brand, yeah?"
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Four times Edwin or Charles changed up their look +1 time they didn't wear anything at all.
(It's more innocent than it sounds.)
Series
- Part 7 of Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
"I don't give a toss what you say! Edwin's not getting within a thousand miles of that place again, not even for a second!"
Edwin clamps an unusually hard hand on Charles' shoulder and turns to the Night Nurse. "You had to have known we wouldn't receive this proposition favorably. Why do you need for us to go to Hell?"
The Night Nurse's eyes are narrowed at Charles, her scarlet mouth pinched. "I was about to explain just that, before I was so rudely interrupted…"
"Well get on with it, then," Charles says bluntly, crossing his arms.
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During Edwin and Charles' next encounter with the doll-head spider, the latter is awakened to an enticing new possibility...
Series
- Part 2 of Demonic Reckonings
- Part 8 of Dead Boy Detectives
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Summary
After a few brief consultations of their expansive literature collection, Edwin has his answer.
"Thinker's silver," he explains, holding it out in his palm. "More robust than steel, most commonly used by magicians to strengthen mental acuity and focus. Apparently, this metal can be telepathically 'persuaded' to take on any form--within reason, of course."
"What form are you persuading it into right now, mate?"
Edwin cocks an eyebrow. "Nothing. This is clearly more your style than mine, Charles."
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Charles re-discovers a lump of magically-pliant silver in his backpack. Swordfights and other such shenanigans are had while he ponders what permanent form it could possibly take on.
Series
- Part 9 of Dead Boy Detectives