Chapter Text
They dig until their hands blister, or in Ponk’s cause until her small hand trowel breaks at the handle. The grave isn’t quite six feet deep, Sam has a sneaking suspicion that idea was more to deter animals who may have feasted on the corpses before cities drove them off.
Instead after about an hour of two of digging in silence that is broken only by their heaving breaths, they dig four feet down and hit the wooden casket with a reverberating clang.
Sam who had been the unlucky individual to actually hit the casket feels the vibrations all the way up his arm.
“Took you long enough.” Eret comments, from where they are leaning over the open grave.
“You could have helped.” Sam snipes, tired from the work.
Eret shoots Sam an incredulous look and grabs a handful of loose dug up dirt, only for the dirt to promptly sink through their ghostly palms.
“Point taken.” Sam grumbles, wiping sweat out of his eyes and continuing to dig.
Foolish continues to dig harsh pants coming out. To Foolish’s credit he was digging at least twice the rate Sam was, a mix of biceps the size of a grapefruit and rage driving him to speeds Sam simple couldn’t manage.
When the casket is finally uncovered Ponk looks up from where he has been emailing and googling on his phone. “We aren’t opening the casket. We probably shouldn’t lift it up either, maybe we can just burn it down there.”
“Is that good for the earth? Will it affect the soil?” Foolish asks, breathless.
“Can’t be any worse than all the dead and embalmed bodies.” Ponk shrugs.
“We are already breaking laws.” Sam points out, tossing his shovel down.
“This is more a moral thing than a law.” Foolish says.
“We are also breaking several of my personal morals.” Sam offers.
Foolish seems to consider this and nods in agreement before tossing his own shovel down.
“Okay Google said gasoline is quite the fire starter so I guess we just put a bit on the casket then light the match and boom.” Ponk says, waving their phone around for emphasis.
“Or that works too I guess.” Ponk corrects themselves as Foolish carelessly dumps the gasoline out of the gas canister he found in his truck bed.
“This thing is going to draw so much attention to you guys.” Eret says, casually.
“Shut up?” Sam suggests because he is really sick of all these pessimistic ghosts in his life.
“You suck. Foolish is way better than you.”
“Can you stop arguing with the dead teenager who was brutally murdered and focus on the arson at hand?” Foolish demands.
When he puts it like that Sam is very much in the wrong. Unfortunately Sam can’t think of any way to put it that would sound much better.
“Do we have a way of lighting this?” Sam asks finally.
Ponk shakes a little box of matches at him in answer.
“Alright.” Sam huffs. The he grabs some flowers off one of the few graves without a ghost lingering around. Saying a quick apology for the theft Sam throws the flowers to the ground.
“Those are yours. Take energy from the gift. Blah blah blah.” Sam tells Eret.
Eret flips him off like Sam is not doing her an huge favor right now. Then hesitantly, in a way that reveals Eret’s fear that this may not work, they grab the matches out of Ponk’s hands.
Foolish makes a noise like he has been shot and Ponk’s eyes widen comically. Sam imagines without being able to see the ghostly hand holding it, a floating box of matches would be mildly disturbing.
“Could he always?” Foolish trails off.
“You had no way of knowing.” Sam says because he wouldn’t know about the whole transference of energy thing if he hadn’t given in to Boomer’s demands for a video game Sam had thought he would never play.
The match is struck with clear defensive movements and the lit match falls into the open grave like the closing of a book.
The fire starts comically fast and burns bright and quick, the putrid smell of chemicals and burning flesh quickly filling the air.
Eret watches the flames with some strange intent in their hallow eyes, before they turn to study Foolish for a quick glance. Then as quick as there was someone there, there is no one. Sam struggles to wrap his mind around the way the universe seemed to simply fold around Eret to take her back, but it clearly isn’t something Sam was made to understand.
“They’re gone.” Sam says after a minute of watching the flames.
“Good. They deserve whatever it is that is out there.” Foolish says, Sam politely ignores the way the flames make his tears glow a molten orange as they streak down his face.
“Yeah.” Ponk agrees with a nod, one of her hands reach out to hold Foolish’s arm as if anchoring him.
“What the-“ A voice shouts.
“Fuck.” Sam jerks, grabbing two of the shovels.
“I thought we were alone?” Ponk demands.
“So did I.” Foolish agrees grabbing the gas can and using Ponk’s grip on his arm to drag them both back towards the truck.
Sam can hear someone’s rushed footsteps approaching the fire they have left in the open grave. Sam doesn’t look behind him to actually see them person though as he turns his back to run.
If Ponk and Foolish can hear them too then that means their chaser is quite alive and could quite easily call the cops on them.
The three of them reach the truck at the same time, Foolish and Sam pausing to toss their cargo carelessly in the truck bed while Ponk scrambles in to start the engine.
Foolish and Sam file in after her, squeezing into the small truck bench.
“Drive.” Foolish says. “Drive. Go. Go. Go.”
“I’m going!” Ponk says, throwing the truck haphazardly in reverse.
Sam’s hands fly out as the truck lurches, settling on griping the door handle and Foolish’s forearm in vice like grips.
“Do you even have a license?” Sam asks.
“No I don’t so we really should find somewhere to pull over soon.” Ponk says, clearly panicked.
“I keep telling you that you need to get your license, but no.” Foolish grumbles.
“Not the time.” Sam suggests. “Is anyone following us?”
Foolish cranes his neck to look out the back window. “No. We’re in the clear.”
Sam grabs his phone to pull up the maps app and search for somewhere nearby that they can stop at before Ponk kills them all.
“A lot is happening at once.” Ponk huffs.
“Not really at once. It’s been like two days.” Sam points out.
“Not helpful.”
“A two day date.” Foolish snickers. Clearly still in the midst of his mental breakdown.
“There’s a twenty four hour diner two miles from here we can stop at.”
“Great. Foolish can buy us breakfast.” Ponk grins.
“Oh my god it is breakfast time. It’s been a full goddamn day. This is my life. Take a left up here- slower than that!” Sam snaps.
“Why am I buying you both breakfast on your two day date?” Foolish asks.
“Because you had us dig up a grave for your ghost?” Ponk offers.
“It seems more like a three person date at this point.” Sam comments. Still gripping Foolish’s arm to keep himself from screaming at Ponk’s frankly deprived driving.
“A three person date?” Foolish asks.
“I mean there are three of us.” Sam shrugs.
“Just kiss already.” Ponk adds.
“Can we please focus on you not killing us in my truck.” Foolish begs.
“Sounds like he doesn’t want to kiss you.” A voice says. Sam’s nerves are clearly fried after his long day because he jumps at Hannah’s voice.
At least it’s not Eret, Sam tells himself. At least you helped one of them leave you the fuck alone
“Why the fuck are you here?” Sam asks. Handing Foolish his phone to use the map to guide Ponk while Sam argues with his ghost.
Foolish shoots Sam a confused look but takes his phone.
“My girlfriend is on a wild ghost chance because of you.” Hannah scowls.
“You still haven’t found him?”
“No!” Hannah throws her hands up. It makes her look even stranger than she already did floating with half of her body through the front window of the truck.
“Maybe he passed over?”
“You met him. No way in hell did he pass over.” Hannah scowls, clearly unimpressed with Sam as a whole.
“Maybe he’s in hell. I don’t know Hannah. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something.” Sam demands.
“You’re covered in dirt.” Hannah says, now more confused than angry.
“Um, hate to interrupt whatever this is.” Foolish says, “but we’re here.”
“Great.” Sam says. “Bye Hannah.”
Hannah for once in all the time she has been haunting Sam and generally making his life miserable, takes the hint.
“We’re not done with this conversation.” Hannah warns, before floating off at speed the human mind can only barely comprehend.
Ponk gets out of the truck quickly, leaving a panicked Foolish to kill the engine and follow behind them. Sam joins them, greatful that they didn’t get caught and actually made it in one piece.
The three of them trail into the diner streaking dirt behind them and generally looking like they just crawled out of graves themselves. Thankfully it’s a twenty four hour diner so no one even bats an eye at them, all to used to the strange stuff five in the morning brings.
“You boys want some coffee?” The woman behind the counter asks, as the three of them collapse into an empty booth. Ponk on one side, Sam and Foolish on the other.
“Yes please.” Sam begs because he is not in the slightest above begging for caffeine after the day and subsequent night he has had.
The woman nods and walks off, leaving the three of them to stare at one another in silence and avoid the gaze of the few curious truckers in the dinner.
“So,” Ponk says after a minute, “That was fun.”
“Fun is not the word I would use at all.” Foolish says, voice muffled by his hands as he drags them across his face.
“I’ve had worse first dates.” Sam says, because he has. You only make the mistake of not checking thoroughly if someone is a ghost once.
“Worse than this?” Foolish asks, a disbelieving grin cracking across his face. It makes him look younger and more handsome than before.
“Two words. Ghost date.” Sam nods.
“No!” Ponk gasps.
Foolish just laughs. A relived and cracking sound. Like for the first time that night he has finally taken the weight of the dead off of his shoulders and has simply decided to go with the flow.
Sam likes the flow a whole lot better than the grief.
“Can I make a request though?” Sam asks, feeling emboldened by the sound of Foolish’s laughter. “If we do this again, can we just like, get dinner?”
“If?” Foolish asks.
“Please you don’t go grave robbing and not go on a second date.” Ponk laughs. “This is the most fun I’ve had in months. Even if you may be a murder.”
“I’m not.” Sam promises.
“And I’m part of these date plans?” Foolish asks.
They all collectively pause to sit in awkward silence as the waitress sets three coffee mugs in front of them before leaving again. The coffee is like warm and tastes awful but Sam downs it away.
“You’re so fucking dense.” Ponk offers.
“Oh I’m sorry! You went on a date with a whole other dude, was I not supposed to think you aren’t interested in me?” Foolish asks.
“Who wouldn’t be interested in you. I mean those arms. Damn.” Sam says over the rim of his coffee mug.
Both Foolish and Ponk shoot his twin baffled looks.
Sam shrugs, unashamed. “I’m right.”
“I’m not disagreeing.” Ponk says. Foolish just turns a fun shade of red.
“I sort of thought the whole grieving thing out a hold on dating.” Ponk tells Foolish.
“But not anymore?” Foolish asks.
“I mean we just got the most closure you’ll probably ever get.”
“Fair enough.” Foolish sighs. “I’m picking where we get dinner though.”
“Aw come on. You picked what grave we robbed.” Ponk snickers.
“If you keep saying we robbed a grave I’m just dating Sam and not you.” Foolish threatens. Ponk immediately starts complaining but Sam just laughs.
“Sounds fun.”
Foolish turns to Sam like he is surprised by Sam’s easy agreement. Then the two of them are just staring at one another like dirt covered idiots.
Sam isn’t sure which of them moves first, they are wedged so close together in their side of the booth that it is hard to tell. But suddenly there is no space between them and they are kissing.
Sam who is generally avoided for the whole freaky ghost thing, has not kissed at lot of people. But when he pulls away, the feel of Foolish’s lips still on his own, he is pretty confident that it’s the best kiss he has ever had.
“No fair. I’m the one who sat through that go awful blind date dinner with you.” Ponk says, kicking at Sam under the table.
Sam laughs at that, then he leans uncomfortably far over the table to kiss Ponk. He only ends up getting her cheek, but he’s satisfied at that.
“You better kiss me for real when we drop you off. It’s unfair how hot you are.” Ponk complains, sagging into her booth seat.
Sam can feel his entire face heat. “As long as you aren’t the one driving me back to my apartment you have a deal.”
“Bitch.” Ponk complains with another kick under them table.
Foolish just laughs at their antics and Sam is for once not surrounded by the cold of death but instead by the warm welcome embrace of life.
Sam thinks that this, this life, this joy, this thing that is not quite yet love, is everything he has wanted and needed for years.
Sam thinks, above all else. That he really wants that second date. Maybe Puffy’s blind date idea wasn’t so bad after all.