Chapter Text
It took Charles a while to figure out why the client was putting him on edge. Why the office he'd begun to think of as home suddenly felt stifling. Why when the client had raised his eyebrows at the way Charles sat on the desk, it had made him stand up next to Edwin instead. Why Charles suddenly felt defensive every time the client did or said something to question their skills.
Their client reminded him of his dad. It wasn't anything he specifically said or did, just the general way he held himself. Their client was a former member of the Royal Marines. He was one of those lifer military types who'd taught the newbies after he'd retired from active duty. By the sounds of things, he'd lived a good and full life, complete with a wife, three kids, and a host of grandkids. The client had died after a battle with cancer. He’d been prepared for his death and he had lived a good, long life.
His unfinished business was that one of his grandchildren had suddenly gotten engaged just before he'd died. The client was suspicious of the fiancé and the quick nature of their engagement. Their client had been haunting the fiancé for weeks and so far hadn't dug anything up. He'd been almost ready to admit his suspicions were unfounded when he'd heard about their detective agency. He figured he'd let them give it a shot before moving on to his afterlife. The client started the interview by asking Edwin and Charles to list their skills and accomplishments. Although it was fairly common for a client to want them to prove themselves capable, this time around, Charles felt like they were being interrogated. He felt a flash of annoyance every time the client seemed to question Edwin's or his skills. Finally, the client had seemed satisfied and had announced that he wanted the Dead Boy Detectives to see if the fiancé had any ill intentions toward his granddaughter or any skeletons in his closet.
For all intents and purposes, their client was polite and seemed like a reasonable man. It seemed like he loved his family and wanted what was best for them. Charles had no real reason in particular to compare him to his father. But still…there was a stiffness to the man's body posture and a harsh glint in his eyes that set him on edge. There was something about the way that their client talked about the granddaughter's fiancé that set off alarm bells inside Charles' head, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Charles kept glancing at Edwin to see if he was picking up on anything of the things that Charles was, but his partner's body language remained relaxed. It was clear that Edwin did not feel the same way towards the client as Charles did.
“Edwin? Can we discuss this in private?” Charles said after the man had offered payment. Edwin nodded and the two of them stepped into the game closet that had become their place for private discussions.
“Well seems like a simple enough case,” Edwin said immediately and Charles bit back a sigh. That’s what he’d been afraid of. Charles had been able to tell by Edwin’s line of questioning and his body posture that he’d been interested in taking the man’s case. Charles, however, had other ideas.
“It seems like a bloody waste of time,” Charles huffed, taking great pains to keep his voice as even as possible. “It doesn’t sound like there is anything supernatural going on here, so what can we really do that this guy can’t do? I say we let him haunt his family for a bit longer and decide for himself when to move on.”
“Charles,” Edwin said, his voice surprised. “In the five years since we opened our agency, you have scarcely ever suggested we turn away a client. Especially when there are living people’s lives and safety at stake.”
“I hardly think anyone’s lives are at stake. More like the old man doesn’t approve of the match and is looking for a way to separate them,” Charles said, making sure his voice was low enough that the ghost on the other side of the doors wouldn’t hear him. The last thing he needed was this intense ghost bursting into their private conversation.
“Charles,” Edwin said again, this time his tone was admonishing. “We won’t know until we investigate, it’ll be quick enough to figure out and it’s not as if we have any other cases at the moment.”
"It's just..." Charles trailed off, trying to come up with an argument that would make sense to Edwin. His incredibly logical friend would never accept something as unreliable as a gut feeling as a reason to not take the case.
"Is there a reason you don't want to take this case?" Edwin tilted his head slightly and Charles could feel his stare on him even as he looked down at his hands, twisting them together nervously.
"I am just not sure it's a productive use of our time and talents," Charles said eventually, even though he knew that argument would fall flat.
"As I said before, we don't have any cases at the moment, and we are still building our reputation so we should not be turning anyone away, especially when it seems like a fairly open and shut case," Edwin responded.
Charles knew that there was no way he could argue with Edwin. Edwin didn’t know about his father, Charles had made sure of it. Charles had devoted his afterlife to being the best partner he could be. He was optimistic, joyful, and helpful. He dealt the most with people and he did it with a smile on his face. He was goofy and tried to make Edwin laugh. After all, Edwin had survived 70 years in hell. What he needed was someone to remind him about the good things in the world, not bog him down with emotional baggage. Edwin hadn’t asked to be shackled to Charles for all of eternity, so Charles was going to make damn sure that he never questioned his usefulness.
“Okay, you made good points,” Charles reluctantly agreed. Because he was absolutely not going to tell Edwin that something about the client reminded him of his abusive dad and therefore they shouldn’t take his case.
“Unless there’s something else…” Edwin said slowly and Charles looked up at him to see that he was studying his face closely. Charles had been too hesitant, too out of character and now Edwin was starting to realize there was something wrong.
“Nah, nah, you know me, I just hate cases that involve us staking out people for a while. Get bored quickly, don’t I?” Charles said, moving as far away from Edwin as he could in the small closet and plastering a grin on his face. Edwin studied him for a moment longer before his shoulders relaxed and he let out a huff that was almost a laugh.
“Yes, well hopefully we can finish up this case nice and quickly,” Edwin said. “That is, if we agree to take the case.” He sounded more hesitant than normal, so Charles reached out to rest his hands lightly on Edwin’s shoulders and brightened his smile.
“As you pointed out, we have nothing on our docket, so I suppose following around some lady and her fiancé can’t be more boring than doing nothing around the office,” Charles said, forcing an easiness into his voice that he did not feel. He'd gotten good during his life and in the five years since his death at faking a joyfulness that he did not fully feel.
“Good, then we take the case,” Edwin said, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly under Charles’ hands. Five years in and he no longer jumped when Charles would touch him, but he still seemed a bit unsure every time Charles reached out to him. Charles had once asked Edwin if he’d wanted him to stop and Edwin had been very insistent that Charles not stop. Edwin simply needed time to readjust to comforting touches after hell. After that conversation, Charles had made sure to keep his movements slow when reaching for Edwin, but also to try to keep consistently using touch to connect with him and reassure him. He often used it to put emphasis on something he was saying or communicate a feeling without words. At this moment, he hoped the touch was comforting and showed Edwin that Charles was at ease with their decision to take the case.
“Agreed,” Charles said, wishing he’d found a more convincing argument.