Chapter Text
Only two inhabit the office now, but it’s not the usual ones. A detective with slicked dark hair and a focused look sits at the desk. The other is not visible to many as he hides under the desk and on the lap of the detective. A cat with a midnight black coat is curled up on the lap. Soft whispered breaths come from him. Neither of them have moved for the past few hours.
The black cat that’s curled up on the detective’s lap had traveled far to get to this home, but it’s worth it. His true home was miles and miles away, across an ocean and many different states. Still, this lap he lays on is always worth the long journey. On stressful days for him or empty scheduled ones, he finds himself here when the other permits it. Today was one of those empty scheduled days and the lap of his lover couldn’t say no when showed up in this form.
The detective has cleaned out three folders, rewritten his case notes, and even gotten a few letters opened. When he has the cat on his lap, he finds himself in a productive state. If he was alive, he could think of a few possible reasons on why, but he’s a ghost. So, how come he gets more work done with something weighing him down? This mystery is one the detective would like to understand, but the priority is low so he keeps this case open.
The left hand of the detective leaves the desk and goes down to pet the cat’s dark fur. Fingers brush softly on the top of the cat’s head and travel down his neck to the curled up body. When he does this, the cat purrs softly telling the other he’s awake and enjoying the touch. He can only do this when he’s reading his notes or the letters of potential clients. He has a difficult time rewriting case notes or letting thoughts become inked words. For now, it stays for a few minutes.
When his hand pulls away and the cat loses the cool touch and rhythmic brushing, he lets out a soft cry. The head perks up, yellow eyes blink awake, and the tiny mouth opens to give another attention seeking sound. It does the trick as the ghost looks down towards his guest.
“I still need to work, Thomas,” says the detective. The left hand meets his right on the desk and holds the notebook open so he can write down his thoughts. The issue is, he doesn’t write when he’s looking down at the cat, so the cat did have the right to complain.
The cat could speak, all cats can, but he doesn’t. He finds it entertaining to limit his vocabulary and actions to a cat. It’s a puzzle for Edwin to solve, one that he knows he can solve. So, he butts his head against the ghost’s stomach softly before looking up with pleading eyes.
The ghost only gets a few words written down in the leather bound notebook before he feels the other try and grab his attention once again. He looks down as he lowers the pen. The hand that holds the notebook open lowers back down to his lap towards the cat. Those pleading eyes get what they want, attention on his head. The detective realizes that the thought he had earlier about how he was more productive this way is failing to be true now. Having a cat on his lap, especially, the Cat King, he isn’t going to get anything done. It’s fine by him.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Edwin mutters as he pets the cat on his lap, which causes the Cat King to go back to purring and resting on the ghost’s lap.
The detective closes the notebook with his free hand and gives up on work for the moment. He needs a small break anyway and Thomas would agree as well. He’ll find a way back to his notes, but for now, he gives his full attention to the Cat King. Both relax in the chair. Both realize that this is something they both needed anyway. No work, just attention to each other.