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The case should have been unremarkable, if physically taxing - an old fortune teller had squirreled away a monetary fortune somewhere in her house, and now that she was dead, wanted to make sure her children found it when they finally cleared the place out. As compensation, they were to take the tarot deck she kept in her room. (Edwin had given her a pointed look when she offered the deck and asked, “A real deck, or the kind that people play games with?” “A real one, of course,” the fortune teller had responded, not offended in the slightest, adding, “If my children had been even the slightest bit inclined to soothsaying, I’d have left it to them, but then you wouldn’t need to find my fortune for them, would you?”) She also warned them to be careful of the cursed items she’d collected over the years, which really should have been a red flag, but hindsight rarely helps ahead of time.
When they reached the house, it turned out that she’d been a hoarder, to a rather severe degree, as well as an extremely heavy smoker. Crystal had dressed as a member of a professional cleanup crew in case anyone asked questions, but the house was unattended and the neighborhood seemingly empty. Charles and Edwin had attempted to scope the place out via a mirror in the front hall, but found that it had been blocked by so many layers of junk that following Crystal through the front door proved much easier.
“Couldn’t you just phase through the junk?” she asked as they trudged upstairs on the hunch that, if something as important as the tarot deck was kept there, the money might be, too. There was barely enough room between the stacks of junk for them to walk single file, and there was a brownish-yellow, tobacco-scented film over everything.
“It’s a bit dodgy phasing through stuff straight out of mirror jumping,” Charles answered. “We’re like as not to get stuck in something by turning solid too soon, or hit one of those cursed things she mentioned.”
“How are we supposed to avoid those if we don’t know where they are, anyway?” This was directed at Edwin, who was leading the parade up the stairs with a pane of frosted glass held up in front of him.
“With this,” he said, lifting the glass slightly. “It’s a scrying pane. Looking through it, I can see any magical auras affecting or attached to objects. Curses appear red, charms appear blue, and more neutral enchantments appear yellow. It should help find the tarot deck as well, if she was correct that it is, in fact, real. Be careful not to touch anything cursed - this only shows me if the magic is present, not how it is perpetuated.”
“Can it see through layers upon layers of junk, or do we have to clear stuff away to see what’s behind?” Crystal asked.
They’d reached the landing, and Edwin was sweeping the hall with the pane. He pointed out two light fixtures attached to the ceiling made of stained glass in ugly shades of green, brown, and yellow, which had not been improved by the cigarette residue coating them. “Those fixtures are cursed. It can see through things like drawers and layers of objects, but not through walls or closed doors. The person who performed this enchantment was quite clever, it seems.” He turned to the right and led them to a thankfully-clear door, looking in through the pane. “This appears to be the master bedroom, judging by the number of magical items within.”
Charles and Crystal followed Edwin into the room, which was just as crammed full as the rest of the place, but at least had enough floor space for them to spread out a bit more. There was a dresser, a chest of drawers, what might have been a floor mirror, and a large four-poster bed with two built-in side tables. On the dresser and each of the two side tables were lamps clearly made to match the ceiling fixtures, and which were somehow infinitely uglier than their built-in counterparts, though the intent of the design was clearer. They were supposed to depict trees and birds, but the stylization had warped the shapes almost beyond recognition, and the greasy tobacco film had distorted them further. These, too, were cursed, according to the scrying pane. The other items in the room were either charmed, more neutral, or magically inert.
“They must have cursed themselves, looking like that,” Charles joked as they all carefully picked their way into the room.
Crystal started to laugh, but the smell of the many, many cigarettes’ worth of smoke caught in her throat, and she coughed instead. “Oh, that is foul,” she said once she got her breath back. “Even Jenny’s dumpster never smelled this bad.”
“We shall have to be quick, then,” Edwin said. He’d managed to wriggle open the drawer of one side table without disturbing the lamp on top and was sifting through the contents with purpose.
Crystal made her way to the dresser, placing her hand on the closest corner to get a read on it. Her eyes went white, then began rapidly shifting back and forth, then closed entirely as she winced and snatched her hand away like she’d been burned.
“You alright?” Charles asked, at her side in an instant, checking her hand for injury. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” Crystal assured him, taking her hand back and shaking it out a little. “Should’ve known a fortune teller’s stuff would have a lot of heavy memories associated. I think the money’s in here somewhere, though. Help me clear it.”
They worked together, shifting piles out from in front of the drawers and wrenching them open as soon as they feasibly could. Edwin eventually came to help as well, having found a velvet pouch decorated with intricate and arcane-looking embroidery in the side table. “Our payment,” he explained as Charles stowed it in his bag. By the time they found a heavy lock box full of money in the very last drawer, Crystal was struggling not to cough with every inhale from the cigarette residue, which seeped out from every surface they uncovered. Charles and Edwin shared a concerned look.
“You should head out, get some fresh air,” Charles said, starting to clear a place on top of the dresser to set the money so it would look inconspicuous without being lost again.
“We’ll clear the mirror in the corner and use that to get back to the office. You can take the long way and meet us there,” Edwin added, heading across the room to get started. Crystal nodded, coughing, and picked her way back out.
“Old bat might’ve told us she smoked six packs a day,” Charles muttered as he set the lock box in front of the lamp on the dresser. He set to surrounding but not obscuring it with other junk, hoping that would make it impossible to miss it without looking too suspicious.
“I suppose it didn’t occur to her that we’d bring a living person with us.” Edwin managed to clear the mirror fairly quickly - it had only been blocked by two easily-moved stacks of boxes, fortunately - and set about finding the way back to the office through it. “Are you all set, Charles?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” he responded, placing the final bit of junk behind the lock box. Edwin nodded and stepped through the mirror. As Charles turned to follow, he noticed the lamp had flickered on somehow. Without thinking, he reached out and switched it off, shouldering his bag and heading towards the mirror.
"I need at least seven showers to get the cigarette smell out of my pores. If I’m not out by the time Niko gets back for movie night, don’t come looking for me,” Crystal declared as she closed the office door behind her. Her breathing was back to normal, at least, even if she did smell terrible. “I might have to burn these clothes, though, not sure if—“
“Crystal,” Edwin choked out from behind the desk. “A-a little help, please? Charles, stop. Charles, this isn’t like you!”
Crystal froze on the spot at the tone of Edwin’s voice and turned slowly to face him, almost afraid of what she would see. Charles had backed Edwin into a chair, and was attempting to climb on top of him, one hand on Edwin’s chest, the other cupping his cheek, a glazed look in his eyes. Edwin was doing his level best to keep him at arm’s length, pushing him back by the shoulders, his face caught between thrill and distress. Crystal wrenched herself forward, rushing to grab Charles around the waist and pull him off of Edwin. He went with much less resistance than she’d expected, simply reaching towards Edwin as far as he could, like all the fight had gone out of him. “What the hell happened after I left?!” she asked as she backed them towards the flat she and Niko had made out of a storage area in the back of the office.
“I don’t know!” Edwin cried, out of breath. “I cleared the mirror, found the way here, and as soon as he came through, he was like this! I haven’t been able to get a word out of him!”
“Well, we’ll see if a closed door does the trick,” she grunted, swinging Charles around into the flat and slamming the door.
“What the hell am I doing in here?” Charles asked as soon as the latch caught. He scanned the room, glancing at the mirror on the back of the door. “Did Edwin pick the wrong mirror? Where is he? How are you back already?”
“Edwin picked the right mirror,” Crystal said slowly. Charles was checking the hand she’d read the dresser with again. “Do you not remember what just happened?”
“I remember you leaving the old bat’s house, putting the lock box with the cash on the dresser, and Edwin clearing the way to the mirror.” The glazed look was mostly gone from his eyes, and concern was starting to replace it. “He went through, I went through, and then I was in here with you.”
“And in between you going through the mirror at the house and me dragging you in here, you tried to climb into Edwin’s skin,” Crystal added. She felt his hand tense against hers as his eyes went wide.
“You’re having a laugh,” he said after a pause, forcing a smile and making a noise that might have been a laugh to a generous ear. “You have to be. You couldn’t drag me anywhere.” When Crystal didn’t laugh along, the smile dropped. Before he could say anything else, there was a polite knock at the flat door.
“Crystal?” Edwin called through the door. He sounded calm, at least, but Charles caught a hysterical edge to it, like he was holding on to his decorum for dear life. “Did it work?”
“He’s talking again, at least,” Crystal called back, looking Charles up and down. “That weird look isn’t all the way gone from his eyes, though, and he doesn’t remember anything. Do you have any idea what might be going on?”
“I think we are dealing with a kissing curse,” Edwin responded.
“Brills,” Charles said with a genuine smile. “How do we break it?”
“That will depend on which of us is actually cursed, and which particular variety we are dealing with.” It sounded like Edwin had turned to scan his bookshelves, probably trying to decide which book to look through first. Charles rolled his eyes and dropped his head against the door frame. “’Kissing curse’ is a category rather than a specific spell.”
“Wait, it could be either of you?” Crystal asked, looking from the door to Charles and back.
“Yes, or both,” Edwin confirmed. “Charles, did you touch anything suspect while we were at the house?”
“I don’t remember touching anything you said not to, but that whole place was dodgy,” he responded, thinking. “Could a curse have hidden from your scrying glass? Maybe you moved something it couldn’t see.”
“That is certainly possible, though unlikely,” Edwin said. “Cloaking spells would typically only be used to hide very powerful magic, which a kissing curse is not. I will try to narrow it down based on what we know. Crystal, can you keep an eye on him and let me know if he deteriorates or develops any new symptoms?”
“Sure, I’ll babysit a ghost, no problem.” With her free hand, she took her phone out of her pocket. Charles was now gently rubbing circles into her palm with his thumb. “I’ll text Niko, too, see if she can be back soon to keep you company.” He let go of her hand when she pulled, shifting his to her shoulder and sidling around so he could read along with the texts.
Crystal: hey, when will you be back? there’s a situation. edwin needs a buddy.
Niko: More serious than movie snacks?
Crystal: almost anything is more serious than movie snacks
Niko: Movie snacks are serious business!
Crystal: yes, it’s more serious than movie snacks. one of the boys is cursed
Niko: I’ll be there as soon as I check out!!!
Niko: What kind of curse is it??? Is it scary???
Crystal: edwin said it’s a kissing curse
Niko: So not, like, that scary, right?
Crystal: charles doesn’t remember what he did and that’s pretty scary
Niko: Yeah, I guess you’re right. OK. I’m in line now! I’ll be there soon!
Edwin was flipping through the chapter on love spells in “Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses Through the Ages” when Niko bustled into the office, carrying altogether far too many shopping bags full of snacks. She waved at Edwin as she passed, making her way towards the flat.
“Wait a tick,” he called. Niko paused dramatically mid-step and almost lost her balance. “Keep the snacks out here for now. Charles isn’t exactly in control of himself at the moment, and keeping that door firmly shut is helping. Crystal is keeping him company.”
“So the curse is on Charles?” she asked, setting the bags down in a corner before making her way over to the desk to peek at the book.
“We’re not sure yet.” The page in front of him looked like an illustration out of Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, showing a beautiful woman asleep with a handsome man leaning over her as if to kiss her. He flipped to the next page, which was titled “Curse of Irresistibility”. “For example, this curse would make me irresistible to the object of my affections, causing him to singlemindedly pursue physical contact with me. The catch is that he would forget all else in his pursuit. It usually ends badly for both parties, provided they are still alive.”
Niko felt like a lightbulb should have appeared over her head. “So, the boy you like who didn’t like you back,” she started, choosing her words carefully, “is Charles? And if this is the curse, it’s making him try to kiss you because you like him?” Edwin nodded, his eyes glued to the page. “Why is that a problem? Don’t you want him to kiss you?”
Edwin hastily flipped to a page titled “Curse of Magnetism”. When he answered Niko, his voice was smaller than he’d meant it to be. “He wasn’t acting like himself at all. His eyes were…empty, almost. I thought I’d lost him.” His eyes burned, and he squeezed them shut.
After a moment, Niko said, “You like him for who he is, not what you want to do with him.” Again, he nodded. Niko gave him a moment to collect himself before looking at the new page. “What does this one do?”
“The Curse of Magnetism would also be on me,” Edwin answered, sniffling and clearing his throat. “It is similar to the Curse of Irresistibility, but slightly in reverse - it would cause me to unconsciously draw in anyone attracted to me like a magnet, emptying their minds of any thoughts not about me and causing them to forget what they’d done. I would disregard it on the basis that he does not like me back, but the symptoms are too similar.”
“If the Cat King were here, it would be really easy to test that one,” Niko said dreamily. Edwin gave her a sharp look, and she held up her hands in surrender. “What if the curse is on him and not you?”
He flipped to another page, titled “Curse of Pursuit”. “This one would cause him to pursue anyone attracted to him. The symptoms don’t quite line up, but I suppose there could be variations from sufferer to sufferer, and being ghosts might change how the magic works…” Here, he flipped to yet another page, this one titled “Curse of Affection”. “This one is the most nuanced. Similar to the Curse of Magnetism, it would empty his mind of any thought other than thoughts of affection towards people he is attracted to. The severity of the symptoms would vary based on the depth of his romantic feelings towards them. If there were more surface-level attraction, he might hold their hand overmuch without realizing, and would likely be able to carry on a conversation. If he were in love…”
“…he might lose control of himself completely,” Niko finished. Her eyes wandered to the door leading to the flat. “How do we break them?”
Edwin flipped through the pages again, reciting the cures as he found them. “Irresistibility can be broken by reciting a particular incantation in reverse. Magnetism requires an actual magnet to be melted in a crucible, and a piece of me to be dropped into the molten metal. The piece can be hair or something like that,” he added quickly, seeing Niko’s horrified expression. She relaxed, and he went on. “Pursuit can be sealed into an object, and the object destroyed, ending the curse. Affection can only be ended by the infliction of pain by the main object of the sufferer’s desires.” He stopped, staring at the page. “If this is the curse we are dealing with, I would have to physically hurt him.”
“Do you even have anything that can do that?” Niko asked. Her eyes were huge and round like saucers.
“I believe Charles has an iron knife in his bag of tricks,” Edwin answered quietly.
Niko stared at the door to the flat again, thinking. “How do we figure out which one it is?”
“Based on his symptoms, I would lean towards Magnetism or Affection,” Edwin said, following Niko’s gaze to the door. “Based on what I know of the situation, I would lean toward Irresistibility or Pursuit.”
“I could call Crystal, see what she and Charles think,” Niko offered, holding up her phone. “That way, we don’t have to shout through the door.”
After Niko and Edwin had laid out the various possibilities over the phone, Crystal and Charles agreed to mull it over themselves. They’d sat on the floor, facing each other, and he was holding her hand again. She’d offered it when Edwin mentioned the iron knife, and Charles hadn’t let go.
“It’s all a bit mental, isn’t it?” he said, shaking his head. “Curses that know what you’re feeling, make you act on it. Or make other people act on it for you.”
Crystal ran her thumb over the back of his hand comfortingly, hoping he’d at least appreciate the gesture, even if he couldn’t feel it. “If you knew which curse you were dealing with, it would give you some certainty, I guess, if you couldn’t figure yourself out.” Charles shrugged. His expression was sullen, and his eyes seemed far away. “What do you make of it?”
“Could be any of ‘em, really,” he replied, looking towards the door like he could see the office through it. “He told me…when we were leaving Hell, he told me he was in love with me.” He sniffled, keeping his eyes locked on the door, as though not looking at her would keep her from hearing how thick his voice was getting, or seeing the tears threatening to fall. “I don’t get how he can be so sure about it. Like, he’s my best mate. I went to Hell for him. How do I know if that’s just because he’s my friend or because I’m…” He couldn’t say it. Saying it would make it real, and if it was real, he’d have to deal with it. His hand was squeezing hers, and she squeezed back. He swiped at his eyes with his free hand, trying and failing to catch the tears before they fell. “He deserves the world. I want to give it to him. Have done since I met him.”
Crystal stretched over to the nearby coffee table, grabbing for the tissue box on top of it. Charles wasn’t letting go of her hand, which made it harder than it needed to be, but he needed it in that moment, so she made do. Once she got her hands on a tissue, she handed it to him. “I can’t tell you what you’re feeling,” she said as he scrubbed away the escaped tears and blew his nose. “I can tell you that, whatever it is, Edwin is really lucky to have you in his afterlife.” She smiled at him, and squeezed his shoulder with her free hand. He smiled back and laughed wetly, crumpling the tissue. “Oh, here, let me throw that out,” she said, taking it from him and starting to stand. “There’s more on the coffee table if you need.” The tissue was dry, she noticed, his tears as incorporeal as he was.
“Thanks,” he said, standing with her and reaching for the tissue box. Crystal cleared her throat, and he gave her a confused look.
“You need to let go of my hand so I can get to the trash can,” she said, holding up their joined hands and pointing to the bin in the far corner. He stared at their hands for a long moment before seemingly forcing his fingers open.
“Sorry about that, mate,” he said as she crossed the room. “Didn’t realize I was holding on so hard.”
“You’re good,” she said. “Here, come sit on the couch, it’s more comfortable than the floor. Better for thinking.” She flopped back onto the cushions and patted the spot next to her. He sat, his hand finding hers as he did. She gave him a look. “OK, I know I just said you were good, but you can’t keep my hand. I need it.” He gave her the confused look again, and she pointed to where his hand was sitting on top of hers, starting to twine their fingers together. He looked, comprehension dawning molasses-slow on his face, and jerked away from her, to the opposite end of the sofa, taking only his own hand with him.
“I’m so sorry!” He clasped his hands together as if to restrain them, blushing up to his ears. “I swear I’m not doing it on purpose!”
Crystal looked at him, and comprehension hit her like a truck. “Charles,” she said, getting up from the couch. “Get the knife out.” She grabbed his bag from where he’d dropped it near the door and tossed it to him. He caught it and started digging through, still looking at her, confused. She called Niko as he dug, waiting for the penny to drop with each ring. Niko picked up just as his jaw went slack and his eyes went wide.
“What’s up? Did something happen?” Niko asked. Edwin was muttering to himself in the background, his voice coming through like eerie static.
“Tell Edwin it’s Affection,” Crystal said. Charles pulled the knife out of the bag as she spoke, staring at it nervously. “I’ll keep hold of Charles once you open the door. The knife will be on the coffee table. You come get it, and bring it to Edwin. Got it?”
“Got it,” Niko confirmed. As she moved to hang up, Crystal heard her say, “Crystal figured—“ before the line went dead.
“Are you sure?” Charles asked. He set the knife on the coffee table, just like she’d said. Crystal nodded, and he swallowed, shaking out his hands like they’d fallen asleep. “Aces.”
“Just one cut, and you’ll be in control again,” she assured him as he came over to the door. “And you and Edwin can talk through what all that means while Niko sets up for movie night and I try to wash today out of my hair.” He nodded, and she got into position behind him, her arms around his waist. His hands found hers, and she watched the door around his shoulder.
Thankfully, Niko’s knock came quickly, and she called out, “Are you ready in there?”
Crystal and Charles shared a look, nodded to each other, and Crystal called back, “We’re ready!” She tightened her grip on Charles’s waist as the door opened. Edwin was a little away from the door, looking just as nervous as Charles had felt a moment ago. His hands were off of Crystal’s, reaching for Edwin as soon as he came into view. Niko had been nearly face-to-face with him as the curse took hold, and she gave him the widest berth she could, looking unsettled until she had to turn away and grab the knife.
Edwin went from looking nervous to looking ill as Niko scurried back out and handed the weapon to him, handle first. It felt heavy in his hand, like what he was about to do had manifested into physical matter. He shook his head to clear it and gathered his nerve, stepping forward and taking Charles’s hand. The other one was cradling Edwin’s cheek again as soon as it was in reach. It would have been sweet, if not for the emptiness in his eyes and Crystal holding him back. “Charles, I’m very sorry that I have to do this,” Edwin said, kissing his knuckles. Then he drew the blade of the knife across the back of Charles’s hand, and several things happened all at once.
Charles screamed and his knees buckled. The air crackled severely with a mix of dissipating ill intent and the sizzling of ghostly flesh meeting iron. Crystal and Niko both clapped their hands over their ears as the dissipating magic caused the pressure in the room to rapidly fluctuate. Edwin dropped the knife and reached out to try to stop Charles from falling, his arms replacing Crystal’s around his waist.
Then, all was still.
Everyone looked at Charles, who was staring at Edwin in amazement.
Slowly, a grin spread across his face, and he said, “I think it worked, mate!” Crystal and Niko cheered, and Edwin hugged him tight. “Sorry for scaring you,” he murmured. Edwin let go and took a step back to look him in the eye, as serious as he’d ever been.
“I wasn’t scared of you, I was scared for you,” he said firmly. He’d left his hands on Charles’s waist, unwilling to fully let him go quite yet. “I take it this means you remember what happened now?”
“Yeah, I do, I—“ Charles cut himself off, burying his face in his hands. “I remember what did it, too. It’s so stupid.”
“Don’t leave us in suspense after all that,” Crystal said, crossing her arms.
“It was the bloody lamp. The one on the dresser.” He forced himself to drop his hands, but kept his eyes aimed at the ground.
“When did you even have a chance to touch it without either of us noticing? And why?” Edwin asked, sounding puzzled more than angry.
“It turned itself on somehow, after you went through the mirror,” Charles admitted. “I switched it off without thinking. Figured someone would notice we’d been there if I left it.”
“It drew you in, made sure it passed on its curse while it still had the chance,” Edwin said. He almost sounded impressed. “What a very clever enchantment. We should stop by tomorrow, when the actual cleaning crew arrives, perhaps she’ll be there. I should like to ask her some questions, and possibly thank her.”
“And that’s our cue,” Crystal interrupted, gesturing to Niko, who collected her shopping bags full of snacks. Crystal gently pushed the boys back out into their office, a hand on each of their backs. “We’ll knock when Niko’s all set up, just in case. Maybe I’ll even get the smell out of my hair, who knows. Just do me a favor and try not to get cursed again, OK?” She backed into the flat, and Niko followed, grinning and shutting the door.
Edwin looked from the closed door to Charles, who was staring at him again. “I don’t know what Crystal thinks we’ll be getting up to that she and Niko wouldn’t want to see,” he said, looking back to the door again.
“I can think of a few things,” Charles laughed, finally looking away to head towards the desk. If keeping Edwin behind him meant hiding the blush that crept up his cheeks at the thought, all the better, at least until he had to turn to sit on the edge of the desk. Edwin followed, stopping to stand in front of him so that Charles had to look up to meet his gaze. He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat and reached out to take Edwin’s hand. “Edwin… I—“ He cut himself off and shook his head. “Fuck. I need to get this right and I can’t even get the words out.”
“It’s alright, Charles,” Edwin said gently, squeezing his hand. “You don’t have to say it. Today’s events have more than gotten the point across.”
Charles sniffled and squeezed back. “But I do, though. You deserve at least that much! Crystal had to drag me off of you, the least I can do is tell you I’m in love with you!” he blurted, the words tumbling out of his mouth before his brain could catch up and stop them. If his heart had still been beating, it would have been hammering against his ribcage. As it was, he forced himself to meet Edwin’s gaze, clinging desperately to his hand.
Edwin, for his part, smiled. “I love you, Charles Rowland,” he said. With his free hand, he reached out to tilt Charles’s chin up slightly, for a more favorable angle. “I am going to kiss you now. Is that alright?” Charles nodded, otherwise keeping as still as he could manage. Edwin leaned down and gently, so gently, pressed their lips together.
Everything else fell away, and Charles briefly, hysterically, commended whoever had invented the Curse of Affection for twisting that feeling so accurately. And then, all too soon, Edwin was pulling back, and that first kiss was over, and before he could think too hard about getting it right, Charles followed him up, standing and pulling him into a second, a third, a fourth kiss, each one more sure, less gentle, more desperate. Edwin’s hands pressed into Charles’s back, pulling them as close together as possible. Charles’s hands roamed Edwin’s body, finally settling with one at the back of his neck, fingers inching up into his hair, the other at his hip, holding on like it was the only anchor he had to the world.
By the time Crystal knocked, they had both completely forgotten about movie night, and nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound.
Charles whined pathetically as Edwin started to pull away. “Do we have to? There’ll be other movie nights,” he complained. Edwin gave him a look and started straightening his clothes.
“It would be quite rude not to after we already agreed last week. And besides,” he said, holding out a hand, which Charles eagerly accepted, “as you pointed out in Port Townsend, we have the rest of forever.”
“We weren’t quite in Port Townsend yet,” Charles pointed out as Edwin pulled him towards the flat door.
“We were close enough,” Edwin rebutted. The flat door opened as they approached, revealing a freshly-showered Crystal in comfy pyjamas.
“You two argue like an old married couple,” she said, stepping aside to let them in.
Niko had transformed the living room into a nest of cushions and pillows, with her laptop hooked up to a pair of speakers and a projector aimed at the wall. “Did you guys, you know, do it?” she asked as they made their way into the nest, her eyebrows raised suggestively.
“Niko, that’s rude,” Crystal chided, sitting down on a pillow and grabbing a bowl of chips. Edwin perched on the edge of the couch and Charles settled on the floor in front of him, one arm slung over his lap so they could continue holding hands.
“And none of your beeswax,” Charles added, winking. “What are we watching again?”
“You’re gonna love this one,” Niko squealed, reaching for her laptop from her spot next to the coffee table. “It’s called Knives Out, it’s about a detective who solves a murder for this ridiculous family. It’s not animated, but it’s still really good!”
“You know, for most people, that correlation goes the other way,” Crystal said. “How’s your hand, Charles?”
He held it up to examine it, and both he and Edwin winced as they surveyed the damage. “Not great, but it should be good as new in a day or two,” he said. “Definitely worth it, though.”
“You know, I stopped by Jenny’s new shop down the street while I was out today,” Niko started, eyes pointedly fixed on her laptop screen. “I think she has a crush on one of her customers. Maybe she needs a curse to give her a push, too!”
“I am not going through this again,” Crystal groaned, at the same time as Charles said, “Absolutely not,” and Edwin exclaimed, “Under no circumstances!”
“OK, alright, it was just an idea!” Niko said, chastised. “Now shhh, it’s starting!”
“You’re ridiculous,” Crystal laughed, but did as she was told, settling in to the pillow nest with her bowl of chips.
If Charles was a little distracted by Edwin’s hand playing idly with the collar of his shirt through most of the movie, well, that was his business. They had the rest of forever to watch it again, if they wanted.