Work Text:
Highgate Cemetery was canopied by clouds that day – as it often was. The moos-covered headstones along the winding paths stood like sentinels as the boys walked side by side. Hand in hand.
“Ya’ think she knows?”, Charles asked quietly and Edwin softly tightened his hold on him.
“If not, we are here to tell her.”
It took them a while. They had once discussed putting a small mirror up near that particular grave. But both had come to the conclusion that they needed the walk to gather their strength and composure. Maybe one day. When it didn’t feel so fresh anymore. Although it had been six years. Way longer than that for Niko. And both wounds still felt like they were still seeping.
Charles sat down by the grave – one of the newest on the old property. He folded his legs, like he would settle down on a sofa for a little chat. Edwin stood beside him, gazing at the stone with a sense of deep, harrowing grief in his chest. It still felt like the day they buried her.
He had to turn away. Charles wouldn’t judge him.
“Good to see ya’, Crys”, Charles said softly. There was a smile in his voice. But also a sea of salt. “Got news for ya’.”
Stiffly, Edwin took a few steps to the side before he settled on a bench. Watching Charles as he talked to a piece of granite that marked the life and death of Crystal Palace. Only Crystal Palace. The only names she ever cared for, really. Beloved friend. Returned to her roots. It seemed fitting.
For a while, as Edwin gathered his wits about him and tried to breathe through the blockage of sorrow in his throat, Charles simply rambled about their most recent case: a small nest of vampires infiltrating 10 Downing Street and trying to manipulate the prime ministress into making weekly blood donations compulsory by law (it had been quick work – some garlic, a threateningly brandished stake and a referral to a vampire-led social network for ethical blood trade).
“Not the worst bloodsuckers that ever lived there”, Charles concluded cheerily before throwing Edwin a look and a tentative smile. He nodded slightly. He was quite proud of how well Charles was managing by now. It had taken him some time to let Crystal’s death sink in. Way more time to wrestle with the fact that she had chosen to move on instead of sticking around with them. A strange juxtaposition of knowing that Crystal’s place was no longer in the world of the living – grieving her loss – and being furiously hurt by her leaving them behind.
For a few months, Edwin had expected this to turn into Charles’ final straw. Had tried to come to terms with his own feelings of loss for Crystal – infuriating, brave, stubborn, dear Crystal – and his fear of losing Charles along with her. Naturally, he would not have stopped him if Charles had wanted to move on.
But Charles never said a word about it. Only held Edwin that much closer when their nights turned very lonely.
“Either way”, Charles kept on prattling. “Pretty brill’s way to mark the anniversary, innit? One hundred years of the Dead Boy Detectives, if you can believe it.” A stutter in his voice. “You almost made it. Could’ve waited a few more years … ah, what am I sayin’?” He glanced over his shoulder towards Edwin again, smiling slightly. “Wanted to take Edwin out for the special occasion, ya’ know? Was thinkin’ about a trip into the Highlands. Heard there was a smashin’ fairy fair goin’ on.”
“Well, as Crystal might already know, things came up.” With a small smile, Edwin stood again. Finally, he felt able to approach the headstone, gazing at it. “I am sure if you can, you are with her right now … Both of you.”
They were already home from the hospital by the time the boys arrived. Pearl was probably asleep by now, recovering from the strain of the day and hopefully being doted on by her wife. It was Niko who awaited them when they entered through the hallway mirror. Her dark hair was twisted into a cascade of braids and the lines in her soft face were just a bit deeper – today had been exhausting for everybody, it seemed. Bloody Hell, Charles thought. She looked so much like her mother.
“Niko”, Edwin said, stepping forward to take her soft hands. “Did everything go according to plan?”
“Not at all”, she chuckled, shaking her head. “Those things never do. But things did go well.”
“And Pearl is alright?”
“She is perfectly fine. Both of them are.”
“Aces!”, Charles cheered, just as Edwin asked: “Can we see her?”
“Of course you can.” She took them with her through the little house that once upon a time had been her mother’s and would soon be her daughter’s and now, probably, her granddaughter’s some day. Charles knew the nursery well. He had watched two other Palace women grow up in there. Now it was decked out in shades of pink and purple – Niko, much like her namesake, had always been such a girl for the frilly things in life.
She walked over to the cradle and smiled – warm, proud, a bit wistful. Probably remembering little Pearl in that very bed. “Time for you to meet our family’s guardian angels, love.”
Carefully – as if they could actually make any noise that would disturb the evening – the boys approached. Charles’ hand settled heavily on Edwin’s waist as he drew him in close. “That’s right, lil’ bean. We gon’ take care of ya’ whenever you need us.”
She was nothing but a bundle of a fluffy white blanket, a round face with huge eyes and a tuft of black hair.
She was everything.
She had her grandmother’s eyes – quite literally. She was staring right at them. And since the ‘lil’ bean’ barely had any time to get into mortal peril, that could only mean one thing.
“Dear lord”, Edwin sighed, always on the same page. “Another psychic. We will never rid ourselves of this family, will we?”
Which was rich coming from a bloke who leaned down to pick up a baby, kissing it on its soft cheek. “Don’t you worry, little darling. We will keep you safe. If you will let us, that is. Your great-grandmother was quite difficult on that part.”
Smiling, Charles watched Edwin coo over the baby. Maybe in another time, in another universe, in which they had met alive and not decades apart, this could have been their future. When little Niko was born (and once Crystal had realized she would get a baby girl, she had not been able to name her anything other than that, after the bravest woman she ever knew), Edwin had turned out to be surprisingly good with kids. Even ones that couldn’t see him, as they learnt with Pearl. He had spent hours floating stuffies and rattles around her to make her giggle. Crystal had joked about her girls stealing her imaginary friends.
Edwin would’ve been a great father. Maybe Charles could have measured up some day. But under the circumstances, they were not only content but determined to be the best uncles a girl could have.
It was a point of pride for Charles, that to this day, Pearl could not see them. He dreaded the day this might change. They had taken good care of her for now. Although they had more so become a quiet audience to her life.
She had learned enough from her grandmother to contact them with a seance. But in order not to overstep, they would not drop in on her life uninvited and without her knowledge. Although they would always only be one mirror away. It would be a lie to say it was the same as it had been with Crystal. Nothing would ever be like with Crystal.
Over the last few years, Niko and Pearl had contacted them more regularly. To talk about Crystal. Reading pages and pages of notes Edwin provided about the cases they had worked together. Still, there were some secrets the boys would forever keep for their old friend. Like what was truly buried under that grand tree in their yard.
Looking at the little baby girl in Edwin’s arms now, a dull ache throbbed in Charles’ chest. She would be the first Palace girl for whom Crystal would only ever be a story.
He would make sure to tell it right.